K.M. Anthru Literature Prize: Jack Foley
Jack Foley is the first recipient of the K.M. Anthru Literature Prize, which is administered by LITTERATEUR RW (Redefining World), a transnational online/print magazine based in Kerala, India and edited by poet Shajil Anthru. The magazine was begun by Shajil Anthru in August, 2020, with Shajil’s late father, K.M. Anthru, himself a writer, as its managing editor. The Literature Prize was instituted in K.M. Anthru’s honor. It is granted annually for “a comprehensive literary contribution.” The jury awarding the prize to Jack Foley was chaired by Dr. Vidhya Vinod; it consisted of Polish author Malgorzata Borzeszkowska, Australian author Mehreen Ahmed, and Shajil Anthru.
The ceremony took place Friday, April 1, 2022 in the Fireside Room at The Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley in Kensington, CA. Jack Foley writes, “An award like this is breathtaking and sweet and tells me that someone was there, that the effort was worth it, that I was right when I chose to become a poet. Deep thanks to my brother in the art, Shajil Anthru, and to his late father. Long live LITTERATEUR RW. May it see the changes of which it dreams.”
Presenters: Paul Veres (reading a statement by Iván Argüelles); Christopher Bernard; Deborah Bachels Schmidt; Nina Serrano; Joyce Jenkins; Dana Gioia; Thampy Antony Thekkek; Jack Foley & Sangye Land.
Jack Foley has published books of poetry, criticism, stories and sketches, and a two-volume “chronoencyclopedia,” Visions & Affiliations: California Poetry 1940−2005. He became well known through his “multivoiced” performances with his late wife, Adelle. Foley’s most recent books are The Tiger & Other Tales, a book of stories, sketches and two plays; Riverrun, a book of poetry; and Grief Songs.