TORONTO -- Christian Bok has won the Canadian portion of the Griffin Poetry Prize, worth $40,000, for the book of poems entitled Eunoia.

The award was bestowed Thursday night at a celebration that brought some of the country's literary elite, including Michael Ondaatje and Margaret Atwood, together in a converted church in the city's downtown.

American Alice Notley was honoured at the gala with the $40,000 international Griffin prize _ one of the richest in the world of poetry _ for Disobedience.

The other authors on the Canadian short list were Eirin Moure for Sheep's Vigil by a Fervent Person and Karen Solie for Short Haul Engine.

The international short list included Victor Hernandez Cruz of New York for Maraca New and Selected Poems 1965-2000; British actor Christopher Logue for Homer:War Music and Les Murray of Australia for Conscious and Verbal.

Bok's Eunoia is phenomenal success by Canadian standards. Since its publication in 2001 it has had seven reprints for a total of 6,000 copies.

The judges said the Toronto poet has made an immensely attractive work from those "corridors of the breath'' we call vowels, giving each in turn its dignity.

Eunoia is the shortest word in the English language that contains all five vowels. Each chapter of Bok's book is restricted to words using only a single vowel.

The judges said Disobedience does what only the best poetry can do in times like these _ surprise, denounce, dissent.

The Paris-based Notley is the author of more than 20 books of poetry.

Toronto venture capitalist Scott Griffin launched the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry in September 2000, and the first prizes were handed out last year.

At the time, he said he was establishing the prize because poetry speaks to the soul.

A spokeswoman for the prize said there were about 350 books entered this year from more than countries.

Griffin said there was great variety of poets this year "and particularly in the Canadian, all with young presses and very exuberant and wonderful poetry.''

The judges this year were Dionne Brand, Robert Creeley and Michael Hofmann.

Creeley, who lives in Buffalo, N.Y., said he went through five or six cartons of books before they decided on a short list.

They reflect the experience of being Canadian in a "very ungimmicky ... way, what it feels like to have a real life in a real place,'' he said of the Canadian entries.