[Alex Pepple]

Congratulations to James Pollock for being shortlisted for the very prestigious Griffin Prize for Sailing to Babylon from Able Muse Press. See the announcement & what it means for James, including the big financial reward to James for making the shortlist - a reward that dwarfs the winning prize of most poetry competitions. Details here.

Indeed, James & Sailing to Babylon have been garnering an impressive list of accolades in a very short time as far as these things go for a typical poetry collection--

OTHER AWARDS:

1. Sailing to Babylon shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award here.
2. Sailing to Babylon selected for the 2013 West Chester University Poetry Conference First Book Panel, forthcoming this summer.
3. Sailing to Babylon wins "Honorable Mention" for the 2012 Posner Poetry Book Award here.
4. Sailing to Babylon, a Director's Pick at the Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival here.
5. Sailing to Babylon and the poem "Northwest Passage" from the book are forthcoming, Friday, 4/19, on Poetry Daily.

REVIEWS:

1. Sailing to Babylon reviewed at The Urge here.
2. Sailing to Babylon Reviewed in Pleiades. Full review here.
3. Sailing to Babylon Reviewed in the National Post here.
4. Sailing to Babylon reviewed in Arc Poetry Magazine. It's a print magazine but here's an excerpt:
   

   ... in Sailing to Babylon, the formalism—the regular stanza patterns, sonnets, and the long poem in terza rima—prepares you to think about the fine line between an advanced knowledge of the rules of traditional poetic form and a mastery of the subtleties of traditional poetics. When a poet deploys tradition gracefully, as James Pollock has, the pleasure in the poems also renews my affection for tradition....

INTERVIEWS:

1. James Pollock interview at Open Book Ontario here.
2. James Pollock interview at The Toronto Quarterly here.

Again, congratulations to James and his excellent debut collection, Sailing to Babylon! ... And be sure to get your copy at Able Muse Press (or at your favorite online or offline bookstore).

Cheers,
...Alex