Poets Win Prizes: The 2022 Edwin Morgan Poetry Award

The first ever Makar, Scotland’s poet laureate, Edwin Morgan made a bequest in his will that centred young Scottish poets of the future not facing quite as much difficulty as he did as a young man looking to get his work out into the world. The award, named in his honour, was set up after his death in 2010 at the age of 90.

“Edwin was deeply engaged with the matter of Scottish culture but he was also an outward looking internationalist who believed that an openness to what was going on in other countries was healthy and invigorating,” explains David Kinloch, Chair of the Edwin Morgan Trust. “Edwin’s legacy is also particularly important because he was a gay man who wrote for much of his life at a time when homosexual acts were illegal and expressions of queer desire were deeply frowned upon. His love poetry is particularly interesting because of the way it evolves and takes account of the changing attitudes towards expressions of identity. He was and remains a towering force in Scottish culture and beyond.”

There are many awards out there celebrating books already published, but the EMPA focuses on the promise of what is to come. “Significantly, EMPA acknowledges the different barriers of access that are experienced when carving out a poetry practice,” notes Siân McIntyre, Programme Manager. “There is an understanding that the journey from ‘potential’ to ‘success’ is often bolstered by privilege. Conversely, conditions of ‘opportunity’ are often blocked by structural inequalities.”

This is baked into the award itself and has undergone further evolution recently. Previously, they offered £20,000 to a single poet every two years – runner-up prizes were also awarded. “When we sat down to look back at 2020 and at the current cultural landscape in Scotland we felt that we could not go on quite as before,” recalls Kinloch. “We were exhilarated by the way we had managed to celebrate Edwin Morgan’s legacy through the creation of new initiatives but we were also deeply struck by how much the cultural sectors in Scotland had suffered during the worst stages of the pandemic.”

“The crucial thing with any prize or award is understanding that an ‘open call’ is not always ‘open’,” continues McIntyre. “People have different access to time, support – different levels of confidence and different experiences of identity, institutions and bureaucracy. We thought collectively about what could be done to (as Edwin Morgan says) ‘Open The Doors’ of the prize. This involved reducing the required poems for submission, changing our definitions of ‘Scottish’, providing a free masterclass for accessible tips, moving away from a one winner format and also creating a fairly complex nomination and open call process."

This process asks “a panel to directly nominate promising young poets who have been historically underrepresented in the EMPA. This, combined with an ‘open call’ which was reviewed by peers meant that poets who may not have had the time or confidence to submit to EMPA were encouraged and validated by people they respect and poets who responded to the open call were read by their contemporaries with an understanding of lived experience.”

Each award is announced at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, centring both Edwin Morgan and these up-and-coming poets. Combining the prize with a celebration of the work that the Edwin Morgan Trust has supported, this year’s event will be a poetry explosion including performances from Sekai Machache, Esther Swift, Ellen Renton and Niall O’Gallagher. More so, it will bring together the astounding shortlist for 2022: Nasim Rebecca Asl, Titilayo Farukuoye, Roshni Gallagher, Jay Gao, Alyson Kissner, Iona Lee, Michael Mullen and Bibi June Schwithal.

Morgan’s legacy speaks for itself, and the award is a continued passing of the baton onto the next generations of poets. What are McIntyre and Kinloch's personal highlights of working with such an esteemed prize? “It has been incredible to work with the EMPA review panel: Vahni (Anthony Ezekiel) Capildeo, Maria Fusco, Gillebride MacMillan, Alycia Pirmohamed, Nadine Aisha Jassat, together with Jeda Pearl Lewis and Kelly Kanayama from Scottish BIPOC Writers Network and Drew Taylor-Wilson from Sanctuary Queer Arts,” says McIntyre. “We have an incredible community of mentors in Scotland who are very generous with their time and knowledge and are invested in seeing Scottish poetry thrive. And of course – the amazing emerging poets!”

“Just seeing the smiles of joy on the faces of awardees and their families is an enormous reward for me personally,” says Kinloch. “This is a prize that can really transform the lives and work of the recipients. I get to see the enormous range of new and experimental work being done in Scotland just now. This is uplifting and encouraging to me at a time of great challenge for us all and it is exciting to know that the decisions we make as Trustees will help bring vibrant new work into the world. That was what Morgan was all about: new work, new life.”

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The Edwin Morgan Poetry Award will be announced at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on 22 Aug, 7.15pm.