2007 T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry

THIS is the poetry prize most poets want to win. Both first-time and established poets compete on an equal footing for a prize that is widely regarded as one of the literary world’s most prestigious poetry accolade. Inaugurated in 1993, the T.S. Eliot Prize for the best new collection of poetry in English is the richest award in British poetry. The Poetry Book Society has announced a shortlist of ten poetry books for the 2007 T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry.

1. The Speed of Dark (Picador, 2007) / Ian Duhig
2. Hawks and Doves (Gallery Press, 2007) / Alan Gillis
3. Pessimism for Beginners (Carcanet, 2007) / Sophie Hannah
4. The Meanest Flower (Carcanet, 2007) / Mimi Khalvati
5. Public Dream (Picador, 2007) / Frances Leviston
6. The Pomegranates of Kandahar (Chatto & Windus, 2007) / Sarah Maguire
7. A Book of Lives (Carcanet, 2007) / Edwin Morgan
8. The Drowned Book (Picador, 2007) / Sean O’Brien
9. Common Prayer (Carcanet, 2007) / Fiona Sampson
10. Black Moon (Jonathan Cape, 2007) / Matthew Sweeney

The winner will be announced on January 14, 2007

Previous winners of the T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry

2007 The Drowned Book / Sean O’Brien
2006 District and Circle / Seamus Heaney
2005 Rapture / Carol Ann Duffy
2004 Reel / George Szirtes
2003 Landing Light / Don Paterson
2002 Dart / Alice Oswald
2001 The Beauty of the Husband / Anne Carson
2000 The Weather in Japan / Michael Longley

1999 Billy’s Rain / Hugo Williams
1998 Birthday Letters / Ted Hughes
1997 God’s Gift to Women / Don Paterson
1996 Subhuman Redneck Poems / Les Murray
1995 My Alexandria / Mark Doty
1994 The Annals of Chile / Paul Muldoon
1993 First Language: Poems / Ciaran Carson