Denise Desautels wins Jaime Sabines Poetry Prize

Quebecois poet Denise Desautels has been awarded the 2026 ‘Jaime Sabines – Gatien Lapointe’ Poetry Prize for her work ‘Tombeau de Lou/Sepulcro de Lou’. The jury, which included Luis Armenta Malpica, Louise Dupré, Silvia Eugenia Castillero, and Luis Vicente de Aguinaga, granted the award unanimously.

The jury described the work as a mature piece of writing organized as a narrative of agony, noting that its phrases appear ‘woven by a visceral force’. They highlighted the book's ability to transform pain into a rescue of life, providing a poignant personal testimony regarding solitude, physical deterioration, and isolation.

During the award ceremony held at the Seminario de Cultura Mexicana in Mexico City, Desautels accepted the honor remotely. She remarked on the necessity of poetry as a space of resistance and noted the cultural connections between Quebecois and Mexican poetry, specifically regarding shared themes of mortality.