Mai Van Phan wins the prestigious Cikada Prize (Photo: VOV)

Established in 2004, the Cikada Prize is awarded to an East Asian poet who “in his/her poems shows poetic sensitivity for the inviolability of life”. The prize was founded on the 100th birth anniversary of Swedish Nobel Prize laureate Harry Martinson. In an award ceremony held at the Temple of Literature in Hà Nội on Friday, Phan expressed his appreciation to those who have translated his poems into other languages: “I could not imagine that my poetry, which has a strong traditional identity, and my personality allure readers, especially smart judges on the other side of the globe. It was a nice surprise to hear from Cikada Prize’s chairman of the jury Dr Lars Vargö, when he announced the prize winner. It is not only a recognition to his efforts but also recognition for modern Vietnamese poetry in international integration.”

Phan, who was born in 1955 in the northern province of Ninh Bình, has received many literary awards in Việt Nam, and his poetry has been published in volumes in English and French. The name of the award was inspired by Martinson’s anthology of poems Cikada, which was published in 1953. The award is given to East Asian poets as recognition of the inspiration the Swedish writer found for his own poetry in East Asian literature, and to recognize the rich poetry of these countries.