My take on the Governor General Awards poetry controversy

A lot has been made about Jacob Scheier winning the Governor General's Literary Award for best Canadian poetry book of 2008 with More to Keep Us Warm.

I do have issues with Di Brandt being a judge in a situation where she'd been of assistance to Scheier's fabulous book. It doesn't matter how objective Brandt is. I have no idea as to the influence she had on the jury. I can give her the benefit of the doubt, but in this situation, the doubt is there. This is a conflict of interest. We'll never know, as outsiders of the jury, what influence is there.

First of all, this is Canada, a relatively small country. It is very rare an award-eligible writer would have absolutely no connection with a very good writer who's seen as an eligible judge. We're talking about poetry, a small literary genre in a small country. Everybody in that scene eventually knows everybody.

I feel badly for Mr. Scheier. I feel people can make the arguments other poets were deserving, but shouldn't make the argument Scheier's More to Keep Us Warm was not deserving. (I'll qualify this and say I liked Sachiko Murakami's The Invisibility Exhibit the most.) It is a deserving book. I just wonder if people will dismiss him as an illegitimate winner. I feel bad as he is a first-time winner with his first book and this was supposed to be one of the greatest moments in his life, and it's racked by controversy. One of two things will happen. The expectations will be so much for his next book and he'll get the sophomore jinx or he, with his so-called "illegitimate victory," will be motivated to blow all away with his next book, proving the controversy a blessing in disguise. I'm hoping for the latter as he does not deserve the controversy surrounding this, for he is a fantastic writer.