All India Poetry Prize

The All India Poetry Prize was established by The Poetry Society of India in 1988. The prize is awarded to a single work of poetry submitted by a poet of Indian nationality.

The selection process for the prize may vary each year, typically involving a panel of judges who reviews the submitted poems. The award not only provides recognition for the poet's work but also encourages the growth of poetry within India. The nature of the prize, including the monetary value and other benefits, can change from year to year. It has become an important part of India's literary culture, celebrating the richness and diversity of Indian poetry in multiple languages.

Selection

The prize is awarded through an open competition, sometimes referred to as the All India Poetry Competition or National Poetry Competition. The selection process involves a panel of judges, which may include both Indian and international poets, who evaluate submissions anonymously.

The Jury

The jury consists of national and international poets. Past jury members include Peter Forbes, Lawrence Sail, Ruth Padel, Sitakant Mahapatra, J. P. Das, Keshav Malik, Anna Sujatha Mathai and Nissim Ezekiel, among others.

Sponsorship

Up until 2001, the awards were sponsored by the British Council. Since 2013, the awards have been co-sponsored by the Government of India under the Ministry of Human Resources. The awards were not given between 2001 and 2013.

List of winners

1988: Vijay Nambisan for the poem "Madras Central"
1990: Rukmini Bhaya Nair for the poem "Kali"
1991: Rajlukshmee Debee Bhattacharya for the poem "Punarnava" (meaning "The Ever Renewing")
1993: Shampa Sinha for "Siesta", and Tarun Cherian for "A Writer's Prayer"
1994: Anju Makhija for "A Farmer's Ghost", and Smita Agarwal for "Our Foster Nurse of Nature is Repose"
1995: Tabish Khair for "Birds of North Europe", and Gopi Kottoor for "The Coffin Maker"
1997: Ranjit Hoskote for "Portrait of a Lady", and Gopi Kottoor for "Digging..."
1998: First Prize - K Srilata for "In Santa Cruz, Diagnosed Home Sick", and Revathy Gopal for "Lines on Meeting a Cousin, Long Lost"
2000: Shahnaz Habib for "Of Hypocrisy and Cheekbones", and Revathy Gopal for "I Would Know You Anywhere"
2013: Mathew John for "Another Letter from Another Father to Another Son", Tapan Kumar Pradhan for "The Buddha Smiled".
2014: Probal Mazumdar for "Grand Mother", Vidya S. Panicker for "A Suitcase Too Small", and N Madani Syed for "A Song to Sing"
2015:
- (English): Sukanya Shaji for "Pilgrimage", Debrup Bhattacharya for "Star's Demise", and K. Priyamvada for "Fireflies";
- (Hindi): Parul Gupta for "भूकंप" (Bhukamp, Amit Bisht for "एक किसान का सुईसाइड नोट" (Ek Kisan Ka Suicide Note), Rajesh Ahuja for "मन मंथन" (Man Manthan)
2016:
- (English): Yatiraj Ramanujam for the poem "A Sudden Voyage", Shrestha Ghosh for "A Dream", Maitri S. Shah for "Violence of the Truth";
- (Hindi): Gaurav J. Pathania for "प्लास्टिक"(Plastic), Neelam Saxena for "ख़ुशी" (Khushi) and Monika Kalana for "तुम्हारे लौट आने की ख़ुशी में" (Tumhare Laut Ane Ki Khushi Men)
2017: Gopi Kottoor