The 2019 International Beverly Prize for Literature has provided an incredible array of literature for our judge! From poetry that could tighten its achingly cool grip on to your dedicated heart at the stroke of a pen, to thrilling novels that lingered in the background of your day - this year's submissions have truly been inspiring.
As always, it is a bittersweet journey - our favourite pasttime is to read new work from potentially great, soon-to-be legendary writers and yet our most heart-breaking times are making decisions to let go of some of those...
We hope to see each and every piece of work on the shelves.
This year we have chosen to go with a piece of work that we judged to be extraordinarily brilliant - Head Judge Todd Swift had this to say:
'All of the shortlisted works were excellent, and each explored their chosen genres with great facility, charm and often, research. The non-fiction was rich and textured; the prose fiction remarkable. It was nearly impossible to make a selection, but one book stood out, thankfully - and it was the winner.
It is exceptionally difficult to write beautifully, and intelligently, with complexity and yet sincerity, about issues of identity, society, and culture, and still avoid pitfalls - one could say, originality is a challenge, as is the avoidance of appearing to simply preach or admonish; and using form and tradition with dexterity, while never losing sight of the need to speak new voices, new places, new ways of being, is paramount.
This poetry collection was nearly faultless in its imaginative reach, creative flair, and astonishing versatility. Reading it felt like being in the presence of an already-great vision, a writer (in this case) poet who knew precisely the measure of what had to be said, and why, but who never forgot that writing must be moving before it can be persuasive. I believe this collection will be one of the important books of this decade, and am proud to have been able to select it.'
This is why our winner of the 2019 International Beverly Prize for Literature is:
K. Eltinaé - THE MORAL JUDGMENT OF BUTTERFLIES (Poetry) 
Eltinaé is a Sudanese poet of Nubian descent. His work has been translated into Arabic, Greek, Farsi, and Spanish and has appeared in World Literature Today, The African American Review, About Place Journal, Muftah, among others. He is the co-winner of the 2019 Dignity Not Detention Prize from Poetry International. He currently resides in Granada, Spain.
More of his work can be found at:
https://www.facebook.com/eltinae/
https://www.instagram.com/k.eltinae
Thank you to all the writers who submitted to us, please continue to send your work to us and other SMALL PRESS publishers.
8 comments
Congrats “Q”! I have always loved his poetry, also as a person who lives in the “borderlands” between cultures and nations. His poetry speaks to that experience of always being between worlds, it is insightful and leads to reflexion and consieration. Otra Vez, CONGRATS!
Congratulations. We always knew you were destined for greatness. Mr. P was very touched and proud of you when you wrote to him with the news.
Congratulations, K Eltinae. May your poetry receive its deserved attention and spread its hope and goodness in the world at this difficult time.
Keep it up my dear … we knew you’ll make it there and beyond
Very proud of you
I’m so happy that this work has received the recognition it deserves and that this prestigious prize was given to someone that truly knows how to use words to express meaning and truth, to touch our souls and open our eyes. Congratulations to K. Eltinaé. Thank you for finding the words.