Diana Anphimiadi title in Warwick Prize for Women in Translation longlist
The Georgian poet has been awarded for her titles in Georgia and featured in selections for promoting the country's women authors abroad. Photo: Bloodaxe Booksd
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A release featuring works by Georgian poet Diana Anphimiadi has been selected for the longlist of this year's Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, an award celebrating English-translated titles of women authors.
Why I No Longer Write Poems, a title translated by Natalia Bukia-Peters and Jean Sprackland for readers in English and released by Bloodaxe Books and Poetry Translation Centre this year, is among 14 selections for the prize.
The longlist was drawn up from 138 submissions in 33 languages, the most entries for the prize. The longlist itself represents 11 languages and 12 publishers.
Organisers said the longlist highlighted the "enormous range and strength of translated writing by women from around the world" through a "spectrum of genres that runs from supernatural stories to sensual verse, historical epic to micro-biological investigation".
The shortlist for the award is scheduled to be revealed this month, with the winner announced in London on November 24 to collect a £1000 money prize. The ceremony will mark the first in-person awards since 2019.
The title by Anphimiadi has been called a "gorgeous, fabulising verse" by Fiona Sampson in a Guardian review of "best recent poetry", with The Calvert Journal's Matt Janney praising it for its blend of "classical images and myths with contemporary techniques, dilating the boundaries of the poetic form".
She produced the selection after being featured in the 2018 Georgian Poets tour by The Poetry Translation Centre, alongside her fellow poet Salome Benidze and their respective translators.
A poet, publicist, linguist and teacher, Anphimiadi has received domestic literary awards including the 2008 Crane Award and the 2009 Saba Prize for the best first collection.
She was also featured in a collection of works by over a dozen women poets from Georgia, produced for introducing them to French-speaking readers in Europe and Canada last year.
The Warwick Prize for Women in Translation was launched in 2017, with organisers aiming to address the gender imbalance in translated literature and "increas[e] the number of international women’s voices accessible to a British and Irish readership".
Author and film director Nana Ekvtimishvili is in the longlist for this year's International Booker Prize, presented as "the leading literary award in the English speaking world", for her debut novel The Pear Field.
A collection of works by over a dozen women poets from Georgia is being prepared for introduction to French-speaking readers in Europe and Canada, with the anthology featuring some of the highlights from the local literary scene.
Some of the most recognised Georgian authors of the recent years will be introduced to English-language audiences via Georgia's Fantastic Tavern: Where Europe Meets Asia - an online festival that will also explore music and cuisine from the country.
Works by two of the most celebrated women poets from Georgia will soon become available to readers in English, with poetry by Salome Benidze and Diana Anphimiadi selected for publishing in the United Kingdom.