The Al Purdy A-Frame Association (APAFA) has announced a longlist of ten titles for the second annual Al & Eurithe Purdy Poetry Prize.

The $10,000 prize honours the most outstanding new poetry book published in Canada in 2024 by an established poet with five or more traditionally published poetry books, “who embod[ies] exceptional talent and a profound connection to the Canadian spirit.”

This is the first year that a longlist and shortlist (to be released on March 31) are being announced.

In its inaugural year only the winner was named, selected by Eurithe Purdy in consultation with leading authorities. Sid Marty won the 2024 prize for his book Oldman’s River: New and Collected Poems.

A jury comprised of Laisha Rosnau, Sam Solecki, and Sid Marty selected the 2025 longlist.

“I am honoured to be one of the judges for this year’s competition,” says Sid Marty in the press release. “This prize is an opportunity created by Eurithe Purdy to celebrate some of our accomplished poets who have been perfecting the art form over the years, with the kind of dedication to the craft that made Al Purdy such an imposing presence in our literature.”

The longlisted titles are:

• The Astonishing Room by Brian Bartlett (Frontenac House)
• In the Capital City of Autumn by Tim Bowling (Wolsak & Wynn)
• Great Silent Ballad by A.F. Moritz (House of Anansi Press)
• Scar Atlas by Colin Morton (Aeolus House)
• A Year of Last Things by Michael Ondaatje (McClelland & Stewart/Penguin Random House Canada)
• Moving to Delilah by Catherine Owen (Freehand Books)
• The Salmon Shanties: A Cascadian Song Cycle by Harold Rhenisch (University of Regina Press)
• Lossless by Matthew Tierney (Coach House Books)
• Talking to Strangers by Rhea Tregebov (Signal Editions/Véhicule Press)
• How Can You Live Here? by Tom Wayman (Frontenac House)

The award celebrates the legacy of Al Purdy who has been called the unofficial poet laureate of English Canada. Purdy published more than 30 collections of poetry, a memoir, a book of essays, a novel, and various correspondence collections and anthologies.

The winner will be announced on April 21, to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Al Purdy’s death.