Reviewing Foretokens for the Guardian,<\/a> Rishi Dastidar called it \u201ca quite brilliant return\u201d, praising Howe\u2019s \u201ckeen, probing intelligence\u201d. \u201cTaking on the biggest of subjects \u2013 genetics, time\u2019s relativity, becoming a parent \u2013 as well as re-examining her mother\u2019s occluded history in Hong Kong, there is now an anger in Howe\u2019s tonal range, which brings a pleasing sharpness to her investigations,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n The 2026 Forward prize winners, Nur Turkmani, Sarah Howe, Biff Smith and Tara Bergin. Photograph: Forward prize<\/p>\n The Forward prizes\u2019 co-executive director, M\u00f3nica Parle, described Foretokens as \u201can exceptional collection\u201d that \u201ccan emerge after 10 years in the making and still bear distinct relevance to our time\u201d.<\/p>\n The prize also recognised three other winners. Nur Turkmani, a Lisbon-based poet who grew up in Beirut, won the \u00a35,000 Jerwood prize for best first collection for October, which was also shortlisted for this year\u2019s PEN Heaney prize. The poems were mostly written in Beirut during a period when \u201cthere were protests, wildfires, economic collapse, a port explosion and an ongoing war\u201d, Turkmani said, \u201cand writing became a way of seeing, understanding and continuing\u201d. It is the first nomination and first win for her publisher, the independent Hajar Press.<\/p>\n The Dublin-born poet Tara Bergin, who teaches creative writing at Newcastle University, won the Forward prize for best single poem in written form for The Fear, first published in the Irish literary magazine the Stinging Fly. \u201cMany years ago I devised a poetry writing class called \u2018Fear Poetry\u2019,\u201d she said. \u201cI got so interested in the whole idea I had to try it myself.\u201d<\/p>\n The Scottish singer-songwriter Biff Smith, who won both the Scottish and World Poetry Slam Championships last year, received the prize for best single poem in the performance category for Dumbarton East, recorded at the Scottish performance night Loud Poets. Smith wrote the poem on a train: \u201cSo much of life is spent in transit, I feel an urge to make that time count \u2013 do some knitting, learn Italian or whatever (maybe even write a poem).\u201d Bergin and Smith each received \u00a31,000.<\/p>\n
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