Vuong wins 2017 T S Eliot Prize

American poet Ocean Vuong has won the 2017 T S Eliot Prize for poetry, reports the Guardian.

Vuong won the prize for his debut collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds (Jonathan Cape), making him only the second debut poet to win the award after Sarah Howe’s Loop of Jade (Chatto & Windus) won in 2016.

Chair of judges Bill Herbert described Night Sky with Exit Wounds as ‘a compellingly assured debut, the definitive arrival of a significant voice’.

‘There is a mystery at the heart of the book about generational karma, this migrant figure coming to terms with his relationship with his past, his relationship with his father and his relationship with his sexuality,’ said Herbert. ‘The view of the world from this book is quite stunning.’

Vuong was chosen from a shortlist of 10 and will receive a £25,000 (A$43,300) cash prize—up from £20,000 (A$34,640) last year to mark the prize’s 25th anniversary. Each of the nine other shortlisted authors will receive £1500 (A$2598).

Established in 1993, the prize is awarded to the best new collection of poetry published in the UK and Ireland in each year. The prize is run by the T S Eliot Foundation. For more information, visit the award website here.

Category: International news