Gwen Benaway has been nominated as one of the finalists for the 2019 Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry.
The Governor General’s Literary Awards are one of Canada’s oldest and most prestigious prizes.
The awards, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts, are given in seven English-language categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, young people’s literature — text, young people’s literature — illustration, drama and translation. Seven French-language awards are also given out in the same categories.
Each winner will receive $25,000. The winners will be announced on Oct. 29, 2019.
The poems of Holy Wild explore the intersection of Indigenous and transgender identities. Gwen Benaway writes from a personal place, sharing stories of love and intimacy as well as violence and transphobia.
Benaway is a poet of Anishinaabe and Métis descent. Her other collections include Ceremonies for the Dead and Passage. She lives in Toronto.