March 18th, 2009
Irish poet Seamus Heaney won the £40,000 David Cohen prize for literature. Poet laureate and chair of the award’s judges, Andrew Motion, honored Heaney for a body of poetry that over the past 40 years has “crystallized the story of our times, in language which has bravely and memorably continued to extend its imaginative reach.” The prize further gives the winner £12,500 to be donated to a lit organization or writer under 35 years of age; Heaney gave the £12,500 to Poetry Aloud, an annual poetry speaking competition open to all post-primary students in Ireland.
Smartish Pace