Ashley-Elizabeth Best has won first prize in our 2021 Janice Colbert Poetry Award for her work, Ghazals for an Absent Mother.
The Janice Colbert Poetry Award was created by award-winning poet Janice Colbert. Janice, who is an SCS Creative Writing Certificate earner, instituted this award in 2012 to honour learners who have created a piece of poetry that moves us. Valued at $1,000, plus two finalist awards of $500 each, this award celebrates the journey towards creative discovery.
1st Place/$1,000 Award Winner: Ashley-Elizabeth Best– Ghazals for an Absent Mother
Ashley is a disabled poet and essayist from Kingston, Ontario. Her debut collection of poetry, Slow States of Collapse, was published with ECW Press, and her most recent chapbook, Alignment is available from Rahila's Ghost Press.
Finalists/$500 Award Winners: Jane Macdonald & Nayana Suchak
Jane Macdonald was born in Alberta. She now lives in a small town on the northeast shore of Lake Ontario. Her writing is saturated by the inhabitants and habits of a place marked by disappearance and loss. Jane will soon earn her SCS Creative Writing Certificate.
Nayana Suchak writes poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction, and has benefited from the guidance and mentorship of the excellent writers at SCS. She was born in Kenya, grew up in Winnipeg, and now makes Toronto her home. She works as a physician in Markham, Ontario.
The Janice Colbert Poetry Award jury was comprised of three poets:
Heather Birrell – SCS Creative Writing instructor
Therese Estacion – SCS Creative Writing Certificate earner, former winner of the Janice Colbert Poetry Award, and published author
Liz Howard – Griffin Prize winner and former SCS poetry learner