I am delighted that Anthony has won this prestigious award. His work beautifully demonstrates how poetry can help us understand our lives - through the challenges and the triumphs. A huge congratulations to Anthony for being recognised in this way.
Professor Marion Thain, Executive Dean, Faculty of Arts & Humanities
18 January 2023
Dr Anthony Joseph wins T.S Eliot poetry prize
Lecturer in the Department of English at King’s, Dr Anthony Joseph has won the coveted prize for his ‘luminous’ poetry collection.
Dr Anthony Joseph, Lecturer in Creative Writing has won the TS Eliot prize for his collection, Sonnets for Albert. Dr Joseph was awarded this week with fellow poets gathered at The Wallace Collection. He was awarded the £25,000 first prize, alongside shortlisted poets who won £1,500 each.
The judging panel was chaired by 2008 Costa Poetry Award winner Jean Sprackland and included 2021 Costa book of the year winner Hannah Lowe and 2019 T. S. Eliot prize winner Roger Robinson. They described Dr Joseph’s work as ‘luminous’.
The T.S Eliot prize was inaugurated in 1993 to celebrate the Poetry Book Society’s 40th birthday and to honour its founding poet. It is awarded annually to the writer of the best new poetry collection published in the UK or Ireland. This year the competition saw a record 201 submissions.
Dr Joseph is a multiple award-winning Trinidad-born poet, novelist, academic and musician. He is the author of four poetry collections and three novels.
Sonnets for Albert, is a largely autobiographical collection. Dr Joseph describes reflecting on ‘Absent fathers, childhood solitude and silence’ in a piece on The Poetry Society.
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Lecturer in Creative Writing