Murmuration by Natalie Rice

Natalie Rice has made the 2021 CBC Poetry Prize longlist for Murmuration.

• 31 writers make the 2021 CBC Poetry Prize longlist

The winner of the 2021 CBC Poetry Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, have their work published on CBC Books and have the opportunity to attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their work published on CBC Books.

The shortlist will be announced on Nov. 18 and the winner will be announced on Nov. 24.

If you're interested in the CBC Literary Prizes, the CBC Nonfiction Prize opens in January and the CBC Poetry Prize opens in April.

About Natalie Rice

Natalie Rice is a poet who is currently in the MFA program at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. Her work has appeared in the Trumpeter: Journal of Ecosophy, Event Magazine, the Dalhousie Review, the Malahat Review, Contemporary Verse Two and Lake: Journal of Arts and Environment. She was published by Gaspereau Press in the Devil's Whim chapbook series. Rice lives in Kelowna, B.C.

Entry in five-ish words

"Ecopoetics, belonging, relationality, invasive species"

The poem's source of inspiration

"I was inspired to write this poem when I noticed a starling nesting in the side of my house. I was intrigued by the story of their introduction to North America and how they have since impacted species like the Northern Flicker. I wanted to tell the story of starlings in the Okanagan, a valley lineated with orchards, wineries and development.

I wanted to tell the story of starlings in the Okanagan, a valley lineated with orchards, wineries and development.

"Starlings are often seen as pests, especially to the fruit industry. I am really interested in the complex ecological relationships within the Okanagan and I wanted to juxtapose the beauty of a starling murmuration with the impact they have on this region."

First lines

Nay, I'll have a starling shall be taught to speak nothing but Mortimer, and give it to him to keep
his anger still in motion. 
William Shakespeare, Henry IV Part I. 

A ship dots a line 
between England 
              and North America, 

  an invisible thread tied tight. 
            Starlings in ruffle 
            in wired cages, beaks clip and clutter 

                        the dark. For weeks 
their chatter
                is a comet, a blurring of fast notes 
                           across dark space. 

About the 2021 CBC Poetry Prize

The winner of the 2021 CBC Poetry Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, have their work published on CBC Books and attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their work published on CBC Books.

The 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize will open in January. The 2022 CBC Poetry Prize will open in April.