Renato Gandia

Jury Citation

“In ‘Psalmody for the Estranged,’ Renato Gandia reminds us of the affinity between prayer and poetry. These poems appeal to our basic needs to belong, to experience awe, to be seen, and to be accepted. They are alchemical and spellbinding in the way they transform small, quiet moments — a turn of phrase, a partner’s touch, familiar objects, a domestic routine — into moments of sacred encounter. The understated nature of Gandia’s poems is what lets them shine. We are immersed in a world resonant with devotion and reverence for the everyday. Gandia achieves the ancient task set out for a poet: to reveal the profound in the seemingly ordinary and to bring our ear closer to what resonates with meaning.”—2026 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers Poetry Jury (Jeff Latosik, Zehra Naqvi, Chuqiao Yang)