Anthony Anaxagorou wins the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize for HERITAGE AESTHETICS!

We’re thrilled that Anthony Anaxagorou has won the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje Prize for his collection of postcolonial poetry, HERITAGE AESTHETICS, “that pushes the confines of form and language to locate a new aesthetic with which to address the legacies of colonisation”.

The award, run annually by the Royal Society of Literature, recognises an outstanding work of fiction, nonfiction or poetry that evokes a sense of place. Anaxagorou was awarded the prize for Heritage Aesthetics, a poetry collection that looks at time and place in its exploration of British imperial history and present-day racism.
The chair of judges, journalist Samira Ahmed, said Anaxagorou’s poetry “is beautiful, but does not sugarcoat. The arsenic of historical imperial arrogance permeates the Britain he explores in his writing. And the joy of this collection comes from his strength, knowledge, maturity, but also from deeply felt love.”

Other titles shortlisted for the Ondaatje prize were Scary Monsters by Michelle de Kretser, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, England’s Green by Zaffar Kunial and Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris.