Chile's Raul Zurita to receive lifetime recognition award at Griffin Poetry Prize

Raul Zurita is shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - José Torres (Mandatory Credit)

TORONTO — Chilean poet Raul Zurita will receive the lifetime recognition award at this year’s Griffin Poetry Prize ceremony.

Zurita is hailed as one of Latin America’s most celebrated poets, who used his art as a form of political resistance during Chile’s 17-year military dictatorship.

The lifetime recognition award comes with a purse of $25,000.

He will attend the ceremony and poetry readings at Toronto’s Koerner Hall next month along with his translator Anna Deeny Morales.

Their reading will be part of a live performance with pianist Eve Egoyan.

The finalists for the main $130,000 Griffin Poetry Prize will also read from their shortlisted works.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2026.

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press