Griffin speculation runs hot this time of year

7 comments on “Griffin speculation runs hot this time of year”

1. Mooney says:
   May 31st, 2010 at 11:43 am

   Fact: If bookninja and this link round-up went out for drinks at Clinton’s in Toronto, Bookninja would end up totally drunk!

   :P

2. George says:
   May 31st, 2010 at 11:51 am

   I surely have no idea to what you are referring.

3. robert priest says:
   June 6th, 2010 at 7:59 am

   so… the overt interconnectedness amongst judges/winners/mentors/nominees here is just as in your face as the GG thing a couple of years ago. so where’s the outrage? surely the lack of it is not a sign that the winners/judges of the GG back then were so much easier targets? Courage poets!

4. kevin says:
   June 6th, 2010 at 12:00 pm

   George being on the GG jury that nominated Carmine Starnino last year kind of ended that discussion.

5. kevin says:
   June 6th, 2010 at 3:56 pm

   I feel compelled to clarify what i said there. I did not mean to imply that George had somehow acted improperly in his jury duties. My point was to follow Robert’s comment that discussion around prize juries is selective and determined by the people involved. For instance, this site has always hosted long discussions about the GG. Not just in 2008. But in 2009 there was hardly any if at all. George was on an editorial board and worked with one of the nominees. “Where’s the outrage?” There shouldn’t be any because you can’t throw a drink in this country without hitting someone who could end up on an awards or grant jury that may affect you.

6. Mooney says:
   June 13th, 2010 at 4:49 pm

   Robert,

   Care to elaborate on the exact nature of those interconnections this year? Only one of the judges is even Canadian, and she lives in New York and publishes with a US house…

   I’m not sure which Griffin judge co-wrote which poem in Pigeon. Could you let us know?

   -Jake

7. Zachariah Wells says:
   June 14th, 2010 at 11:00 am

   Kevin, the two situations aren’t comparable. Being on the editorial board of a magazine with someone who lives in a different city is not at all the same as being a close family friend and contributor to a book; I’m on an editorial board with people I’ve never met before or have only met once. Also, please note that Carmine didn’t _win_ the GG.

   And Robert, can’t speak for anyone else, but I get more irked by GG shenanigans because it’s a publicly funded prize administered by a governmental organization. The Griffin’s 100% private, so it’s up to them how well or badly they run their show. For the record, I find that it has become quite a coterie affair, on the whole. I once tried to get a list of titles submitted for an article I was writing and was told that I couldn’t be shown that list because then I’d know what wasn’t submitted. Which seemed more than a little fishy to me.

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