The Joseph Brodsky/ Stephen Spender Prize
for the translation of Russian poetry in English
In the 1960s Stephen Spender knew Joseph Brodsky only by reputation, as a poet imprisoned in the Soviet Union. They met for the first time in 1972 when W. H. Auden brought Brodsky, who had been expelled a few days earlier from his country, to London to the Poetry International and they stayed with the Spenders. There was an instant connection. The Joseph Brodsky/Stephen Spender Prize, instigated by Maria Brodsky and Natasha Spender, celebrates the poets’ long friendship and the rich tradition of Russian poetry.
Judged by Sasha Dugdale, Catriona Kelly and Paul Muldoon, this new prize celebrates the long friendship between Joseph Brodsky and Stephen Spender, as well as the rich tradition of Russian poetry. The prizes are: £1,500 (first), £1,000 (second) and £500 (third). The deadline is 31 August 2011 and the competition is open to entrants wordwide.
Submissions of a translated poem 60 lines or shorter are open until 31 August 2011.
See www.stephen-spender.org for more information.