Poet, playwright, and author Joelle Taylor won the TS Eliot poetry prize 2021 for her book 'C+nto & Othered Poems' on January 10 in London. 'C+nto & Othered Poems' was praised by Chair of Judges Glyn Maxwell as "a blazing book of rage and light".
Taylor's book was chosen the winner from a shortlist of 10 poetry collections, including by poets Raymond Antrobus, Michael Symmons Roberts, and Selima Hill. The winner was chosen by judges: Glyn Maxwell (Chair), Caroline Bird, and Zaffar Kunial. Commenting about the shortlisted books and picking a winner, Maxwell said, “The arguments towards the end were passionate and thoughtful, but the choice of the judging panel is Joelle Taylor’s 'C+nto and Othered Poems', a blazing book of rage and light, a grand opera of liberation from the shadows of indifference and oppression.”
Part memoir and part poetry collection,' C+nto & Othered Poems' is Taylor's fourth book wherein she shares her experiences of being a butch lesbian in the 1980s and 90s. Praising the book, Maxwell said, according to The Guardian, that it was “pretty autobiographical, about her life as a butch lesbian, and the hostility she suffered as a kid in a conventional family... But then there’s also imaginative renderings of nightlife – of lesbian clubs, some of which are kind of hellish and some of which are heavenly. It’s kind of enraged, but it’s this sort of rage which generates light, and it’s a really vivid read – it’s quite something.”
Poet, playwright, and author, Taylor is also a former UK slam champion. In 2001, she started SLAMbassadors, UK’s youth slam championships. Her books include 'Lesbians Talk Violent Relationships' (1995), 'The Woman Who Was Not There' (2014), 'Songs My Enemy Taught Me' (2017), and 'C+nto & Othered Poems' (2021).
Named after poet TS Eliot, the TS Eliot prize is one of the most prestigious awards in British poetry which are given every year. Past winners of the award include poets Ted Hughes and Carol Ann Duffy among others.
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