An international jury representing nine countries selected critically acclaimed Chinese poet Duo Duo as the 2010 laureate of the $50,000 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and its international magazine, World Literature Today.
The decision was made during deliberations Thursday on the OU Norman campus.
Duo Duo (Li Shizheng) was born in Beijing in 1951. He started writing poetry in the early 1970s as a youth during the isolated, midnight hours of the Cultural Revolution, and many of his early poems critiqued the Cultural Revolution from an insider's point of view in a highly sophisticated, original style.
Often considered part of the "Misty" school of contemporary Chinese poetry, he nevertheless kept a cautious distance from any literary trends or labeling. After witnessing the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Duo Duo left China and did not return for more than a decade. Upon his return to China in 2004, the literary community received him with honor and praise. Duo Duo currently resides on Hainan Island and teaches at Hainan University in China.
Chinese poet Mai Mang (Yibing Huang), who currently teaches Chinese literature at Connecticut College, served on the Neustadt Prize jury and nominated Duo Duo for the award. He notes that "Duo Duo is a great lone traveler crossing borders of nation, language and history, as well as a resolute seer of some of the most basic, universal human values that have often been shadowed in our troubled modern time: creativity, nature, love, dreams and wishful thinking."
Robert Con Davis-Undiano, WLT's executive director, adds that "Duo Duo is foremost among a group of first-rate Chinese poets who deserve serious attention and recognition in the West."
The Neustadt Prize, awarded every two years, is the only international literary award from the United States for which poets, playwrights and novelists are given equal consideration. It is widely considered to be the most prestigious international prize after the Nobel Prize in Literature and, in fact, is often referred to as the "American Nobel" because of its record of 27 laureates, candidates or jurors who in the past 39 years have been awarded Nobel Prizes following their involvement with the Neustadt Prize. Duo Duo is the 21st Neustadt laureate and the first Chinese author to win the prize. Duo Duo will visit OU in fall 2010 to accept the award.
Local news
Chinese poet awarded Neustadt Prize at OU
- Local news
-
-
Special zoning requested
The Norman Planning Commission meets Thursday and will consider special zoning for Joy’s Palace and a preliminary plat for the Fountain View North addition....
-
Norman looks at transportation package to fix traffic, flooding issues
The Robinson Street Underpass Project currently under way from Flood Avenue to Stubbeman Avenue is one project approved by Norman voters in the 2005 Bond Election. By securing funding with the bond, city staff was able to qualify for ...
-
Lexington city manager resigns
Lexington City Manager Jason Orr resigned in the city’s special council meeting Monday night, which was scheduled to discuss his employment in light of a misdemeanor charge of domestic abuse....
-
Norman North student is finalist in statewide contest
Norman North High School senior Joseph D’Amato is one of four finalists in the high school category for the Keep Oklahoma Beautiful’s End Litter video contest....
-
Services Friday for longtime car dealer Tommy Ferguson
Friends and family will gather Friday to remember longtime local automobile dealer Tommy Ferguson, 72. He died Monday after a lengthy illness....
-
Senate hopefuls reach out to county Republicans
Four men seeking the Republican nomination in Cleveland County’s Senate District 15 seat pledged Tuesday to cut taxes, eliminate unnecessary government services and open their personal tax returns....
-
Police chief: Investigation of official ‘a bad deal all around’
Police Chief Deana Allen has worked in Lexington for 18 years, and she likes it because it’s been calm, quiet and peaceful — at least until recently....
-
Technology, art combine
The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma invites the public to a live video chat with artist Kiki Smith at 4 p.m. Thursday....
-
Norman robot teams invade competition
Two Norman area robotic teams have excelled in respective competitions, with the Sooner Norman Advanced Robotics Collaboration taking top honors and a First Lego League team, the OzBots, advancing to compete at a World Festival in April....
-
Panel kills bill to end exemption
A bill to end Oklahoma’s sales tax exemption for newspapers and magazines has been defeated in a Senate committee....
- More Local news Headlines
-
Special zoning requested
