Taiwanese poet Chen Yu-hung (陳育虹), the winner of the Swedish Cikada Prize 2022, received the award at the ceremony held in the National Museum of Taiwan Literature (NMTL) on Nov. 21. It was presented by the representative of the Swedish Institute, Anna Gustafsson Chen (陳安娜).
The Cikada Prize was founded in 2004 following the 100th anniversary celebration to commemorate the birth of Swedish Nobel laureate for literature Harry Martinson (1904-1978). Impacted by the terror of atomic bombs during the Second World War, Martinson published a poetry collection titled “Cikada,” demonstrating his care for life and criticism towards reality.
Anna Gustafsson Chen said that Chen Yu-hung’s poetry is rich in musicality and sensibility, fusing the awe of nature with the joyfulness of new discoveries. These characteristics are in line with Martinson’s spirit, which is why she was recognized by the Cikada Prize, Anna Gustafsson Chen added.
Born in Kaohsiung, Chen Yu-hung lived in Canada for many years and currently resides in Taipei. Graduated from the English Department of the Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages (文藻外語學院), she is both a poet and a translator. Her published poetry collections include “About Poetry (關於詩),” “Actually, the Sea (其實，海),” “In-between (之間),” and “Trance (閃神).”
The Cikada Prize is one of the most important international awards in the contemporary literary scene. Since Martinson was deeply influenced by East Asian poetry, this award was established to recognize the achievements of poets from the region. Previous awardees from the Sinophone circle include Bei Dao (北島) from China, Xi Xi (西西) from Hong Kong, and Yang Mu (楊牧) from Taiwan.
NMTL said that the ceremony was postponed from last year due to the pandemic. Besides the award ceremony, an exhibition about Taiwanese literature in Sweden is being held at the Taiwan Literature Base in Taipei until June 2, 2024, NMTL added.