2016 Poetry East West Awards & Hu Shi Prizes
12/23/2016
For further Information please contact poetryeastwest@gmail.com
Poetry East West (PEW), a Chinese-English literary journal (based in Beijing and Angeles) founded by poets in China and Chinese diaspora poets in the US with contributing translators from many other countries, and DJS BOOKS, a Chinese imprint of Red Hen Press in Los Angeles, together present the 2016 awards to the following ten extraordinary poets, in eight categories.
New Poetry in China started in 1916 when Hu Shi wrote the first free verse in vernacular language while a student in the US and returned to China in 1917 to promote literary/cultural reform. To celebrate one hundred years of Chinese New Poetry (1916-2016), DJS has changed the name of its series prizes to the Hu Shi Prizes.
“EastWest” presents an interesting ambiguity in Chinese: when both syllables are stressed, it means East West (oriental and occidental), but when only the first syllable is stressed it means “thing(s).” As we always ponder what kind of “thing” poetry is, PEW seeks to explore, while migrating between east and west, the full range of possibilities that exist in the dialogues between cultures and imaginations.
PEW Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Poetry:
Juan Felipe Herrera
In recognition of his tireless exploration of Chicano and indigenous people’s experiences in the Americas and his multifaceted and ever-evolving approaches to language, identity, historical memory as manifested in the intersection of poetry, performance and visual art. Author of 26 books spanning poetry, fiction, children’s literature and hybrid forms, Herrera has exhibited a lifelong commitment to writing across borders and boundaries, whether those borders are situated along national, cultural, age, language, or class lines. In his writing, teaching and mentoring, Herrera continues to excite the minds and stir the imaginations of his students and readers around the world with his rare blend of critical savvy, brilliant language, and passionate humor.
The selection committee of the PEW Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Poetry consists of five members this year: Zang Li (China), Ming Di (China-US), Neil Aitken (Canada), Alí Calderón (Mexico) and Yang Xiaobin (Taiwan).
(Collected Poems of Rilke: Vol 1-9 translated from German by Chen Ning ; Vol 10 translated from French by He Jiawei (ed by He Jiawei, Beijing, Shangwu Publishing House, 2016.) Photo courtesy of Fan Jinghua)
PEW Award for Translation:
Chen Ning (Dasha) (1970-2012)
For his remarkable translation of Rilke’s entire body of poetry into Chinese published posthumously in China this year in nice volumes.
PEW Award for Editing:
Zhang Er
For launching and managing a cutting edge journal of poetry and art: Enclave
Hu Shi Prize for Poetry
Song Wei
For his avant garde writing since the early 1980s and his firm detachment from the mainstream establishment in China. (He has refused all offers to have his work published officially.)
Hu Shi Prize for Poetry Criticism:
Zhang Taozhou
For his deep understanding of poetic intricacies and his extremely serious and thorough reviews of poetic work.
Hu Shi Prize for First Poetry Book:
Zhang Weidong
For his unusual rhetoric and multiple perspectives in his poetry.
Wang Pu
For his sensitivity, his critical view of contemporary reality and his witty language.
Hu Shi Prize for Young Poets:
Su Xian and Jiang Ding
For their poetic talents and potential growth.
DJS Prize for Translation:
Françoise Roy
For her beautiful translation of an anthology of Chinese poetry into Spanish to be published in Buenos Aires.
Full citations and remarks can be found in the Chinese version of the announcement: http://www.poemlife.com/newshow-10288.htm
PEW-DJS-Hu Shi awards are founded and funded by poets and presented by poets in recognition of poets. Despite limited funding, we are expanding the scope of the awards each year to include more international poets in order to broaden our perspectives and horizons. PEW editors will contact the winners by email regarding the cash rewards for this year. (For those whose current email is unknown to us, please contact us at: poetryeastwest@gmail.com)
List of the previous winners since 2011:
DJS-PEW Lifetime Achievement Award: Derek Walcott (St Lucia)
PEW Poetry Award: Anne Carson (Canada), Jing Wendong, Wang Pu, Han Bo, Sen Zi, Che Qianzi, Nikola Madzirov (Macedonia), Najwan Darwish (Palestine), Dino Siotis (Greece) and Víctor Rodríguez Núñez (Cuba), Liu Xia, Yang Muzi, Ni Zhijuan, Dou Fengxiao, and Li Heng.
DJS-PEW Criticism Award: Xi Du, Jiang Tao, and Bao Huiyi.
PEW Editing Award: Ilya Kaminsky, Alí Calderón (Mexico), and Steven Fowler (UK).
PEW Translation Award: Fan Jinghua (Singapore), A Jiu (Canada) Yulia Dreyzis (Russia), Wang Tianai (Spain), and Fan Ye.
DJS Translation Award: Neil Aitken (Canada), Nick Admussen, Christopher Lupke, Katie Farris, Afaa Weaver, Tony Barnstone, Kerry Shawn Keys, Jonathan Stalling, Eleanor Goodman, Jennifer Kronovet, Elizabeth Reitzell, and Cody Reese.
PEW Young Poet Award: Qin Sanshu
DJS First Book Award: Xu Yue, Yuan Yongping, Wang Dongdong, Qing Ping, and Gu Gang.
Poets from Poetry East West and DJS BOOKS
http://redhen.org/about-us-2/djs-books-2
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