Taiwan poet Ling Yu was awarded the 2025 Newman Prize for Chinese Literature at the University of Oklahoma March 28 in the U.S., according to the Ministry of Culture.
During the presentation ceremony, Ling Yu said that her poetry documented Taiwan’s dramatic changes over the past half-century, and expressed hope that more women would engage in poetry and explore their creativity.
The Taiwan Academy in Houston further collaborated with the University of Oklahoma to host an exhibition on modern Taiwan poetry in conjunction with the award, the MOC said, adding that it highlighted “Poetry Now,” a magazine funded by renowned poets including Ling Yu, Hsia Yu and Tseng Shu-mei.
A roundtable discussion was also held to read aloud and discuss poems and translations, the ministry said, adding that the event featured Jonathan Stalling, director of the prize; Cosima Bruno, professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; and Nicholas Y. H. Wong, assistant professor at the School of Chinese, University of Hong Kong.
Established in 2008, the Newman Prize for Chinese Literature is awarded biennially in recognition of outstanding achievement in prose or poetry that best captures the human condition. Taiwan writers Yang Mu, Chu Tien-wen and Chang Kuei-hsing received the prize in 2013, 2015 and 2023, respectively.
The MOC added that Ling Yu also attended a Taiwan literature seminar organized by the Taiwan Academy in Houston and University of Texas at Austin April 1, with more of her essays to be published on the Chinese Literature and Thought Today journal later this year. (YCH-E)
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