This article on the T. S. Eliot Prize was first published in the Poetry Book Society’s PBS Bulletin in Autumn 2004.
The dozens of manuscripts and scores of books submitted for this year’s T. S. Eliot Prize spill out of two large crates in the Poetry Book Society office – the astonishing debut publications, the confident follow-ups and the career-defining collections.
Poring over these varied submissions are this year’s judges Douglas Dunn (Chair), Paul Farley and Carol Rumens. Having selected this Shortlist of ten books, they will make their decision about the single winner of the Prize on 17 January, and announce the news that evening. The night before the ceremony, the Shortlisted poets – or as many of them who are able to attend – will read from their collections at the UCL Bloomsbury Theatre in Euston.
Date: 16 January 2005, 7.30pm
Venue: UCL Bloomsbury Theatre, 15 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AH
Tickets: £10, £7 concs
T. S. Eliot Prize Shortlist
Ten of the best books of the year, all available at the usual discount from the Poetry Book Society.
Colette Bryce – The Full Indian Rope Trick (Picador Poetry)
Kathryn Gray – The Never Never (Seren)
Kathleen Jamie – The Tree House (Picador Poetry)
Michael Longley – Snow Water (Cape Poetry)
Ruth Padel – The Soho Leopard (Chatto & Windus)
Tom Paulin – The Road to Inver (Faber & Faber)
Peter Porter – Afterburner (Picador Poetry)
Michael Symmons Roberts – Corpus (Cape Poetry)
George Szirtes – Reel (Bloodaxe Books)
John Hartley Williams – Blues (Cape Poetry)
Zadie Smith said of last year’s Eliot Prize winner, Landing Light by Don Paterson, ‘His is the kind of poetry that teaches us all writers of prose a thing or three; words weighed with equal attention to form and function; sentiment reigned in and challenged; images of such particularity and elegance, it makes you jealous to look at them. Above all, Paterson has an infinite sensitivity to the world, and that rare quality makes any collection of his work a cause for celebration.’
For the next three years, the T. S. Eliot Prize will be generously supported by Five, the broadcaster/TV channel which has enjoyed enormous success and critical acclaim with its raft of prime-time arts programming.
Study the Shortlist
To coincide with this year’s prize, the Poetry School, in association with the Poetry Book Society, presents an afternoon seminar in which Carol Rumens will provide an overview of the shortlist, selecting examples from the contenders’ new collections, and inviting lively comment and debate. Copies of the poems under discussion will be available to the audience.
Date: 16 January 2005, 2-5pm
Venue: UCL Bloomsbury Theatre Studio, 15 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AH
Fees: £9/£7 concs
This article has been republished to provide a fuller picture of the T. S. Eliot Prize history. The Poetry Book Society ran the T. S. Eliot Prize until 2016, when the T. S. Eliot Foundation took over the Prize, the estate having supported it since its inception.
