Qurat Dar (Magenta Photo)

Mississauga-based poet Qurat Dar has won the inaugural Claire Harris Poetry Prize, Goose Lane Editions announced.

Dar’s manuscript, Non-Prophet, was selected as the winner by poet Kazim Ali from dozens of entries.

The Claire Harris Poetry Prize, which carries a $1,000 prize and publication of the winning manuscript with Goose Lane imprint icehouse poetry, was launched last year in honour of Trinidadian-Canadian poet Claire Harris, whose work had been published by Goose Lane. The prize aims to increase the visibility of debut poetry collections by writers from Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities.

Dar was Mississauga’s Youth Poet Laureate from 2021 to 2023 and was national champion of the 2020 Canadian Individual Poetry Slams.

“I’m still a little in disbelief at winning the Claire Harris Prize. It was both unexpected and deeply validating,” Dar said in a press release. “Publishing a poetry collection has always felt intimidating and out of reach, and it’s amazing to think I’ll have a book out in the world.”

Ali will work with Dar to edit the collection for publication, which is expected for fall 2025.

“These gorgeous and heartfelt lyrics speak of quintessentially human and Canadian experiences and are very much in the spirit of Claire Harris’s bold and innovative work,” Ali said.