Photo by Steve McLaughlin via Flickr Creative Commons
Laotian Canadian poet Souvankham Thammavongsa won $100,000 for her debut short story collection Monday night, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) reports. How to Pronounce Knife was awarded the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize, Canada’s biggest literary prize.
The collection discusses the multifaceted nature of the refugee experience, CBC reports, detailing the tragedy and humor in immigrants’ lives.
“I always thought these kinds of things happen to other people. They don’t happen to me,” Thammavongsa said, Red Deer Advocate reports.
“Thirty-six years ago, I went to school and I pronounced the word ‘knife’ wrong,” Thammavongsa added, Red Deer Advocate reports. “I didn’t get a prize. But tonight there is one.”
According to CBC, the author was born in the (Lao) Nong Khai refugee camp in Thailand and grew up in Toronto. Thammavongsa previously published four works of poetry.
How to Pronounce Knife features stories from various perspectives, Red Deer Advocate reports. One short story in the collection, “Slingshot,” discusses the romantic relationship between a 70-year-old woman and her 32-year-old neighbor; the work won an O. Henry Award (prestigious American award for short stories).
Thammavongsa sought to portray the immigrant experience fully, The Atlantic reports.
“As refugees, all you have is one another. But what happens when that alienation—that thing that is often encountered outside—is brought home, is intimate? It is a kind of loneliness that is so bare and heartbreaking… there is nothing to grab on to in order to feel safe,” the author said.
“The cornerstone of these stories is laughter,” Thammavongsa continued. “ There are varieties of laughter—laughter when it’s uncomfortable; laughter when what you feel is so unbearable; laughter when you are angry; laughter when you are scared; laughter to feel strong; laughter when you are happy. Laughter is always power.”
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