The American writer won the prestigious prize for Fierce Elegy, a collection informed by the deaths of his family members. He explains why poetry is like friendship – and why he loves small words

Winning the TS Eliot prize came as a shock to American poet Peter Gizzi. “I had zero expectations”, he says. “All I know is I was overwhelmed.” In fact, the 65-year-old says he almost cried when his name was read out for his collection Fierce Elegy.

When we talk the next day – Gizzi is speaking over Zoom from Valencia, where he flew to see family after attending the ceremony in London on Monday night – he is clearly still emotional. The prestigious poetry award holds particular significance for him, having long felt an affinity with TS Eliot. In fact, Gizzi and his friend, the poet and scholar JH Prynne, even went on a pilgrimage to the village that features in the final poem in Eliot’s Four Quartets.