New graduate wins 2025 CBC Poetry Prize
For the second time this year, a graduate of the Writer鈥檚 Studio creative writing program has walked away with a prestigious CBC Literary Prize. Vancouver鈥檚 Jordan Redekop-Jones has won the 2025 CBC Poetry Prize for her poem 鈥�.鈥�
Redekop-Jones graduated from the Writer鈥檚 Studio in 2024 and is currently working on her MA in English literature at SFU. Of mixed Indigenous/Anglo-Indian heritage, Redekop-Jones told CBC her winning poem was inspired by 鈥渂ecoming a caregiver in my 20s while in the midst of reconnecting to my cultures as someone who is both mixed and displaced has been both challenging and profoundly enlightening.
鈥淎bove all,鈥� she added, 鈥渢his poem is an ode to my journey and is dedicated to the strongest, most beautiful woman I know; my mother.鈥�
Redekop-Jones鈥� poem was chosen out of more than 3,200 submissions this year. Judges praised the work as 鈥渁stonishing鈥� and 鈥渢ender.鈥�
鈥淔ragile and innocent, but with an abundant and underlying strength, this poem resonates on a deeply emotional level, and we are eager to read more from this poet, and to see what this energetic work might spark in other writers, as well,鈥� the judges stated.
鈥淲inning this award means so much to me,鈥� Redekop-Jones told CBC Books. 鈥淚 am overcome with immense gratitude for the judges and readers that took the time to read my work in such a respectful and compassionate manner. At the moment, I am still trying to process this experience and what it means to me as an artist. It is a dream come true.鈥�
The CBC Poetry Prize includes $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
Earlier this fall, fellow Writer鈥檚 Studio alumnus Laura MacGregor was awarded the CBC Nonfiction Prize for 2025. Congratulations to both graduates on their well-deserved recognition.