Souvankham Thammavongsa
Souvankham Thammavongsa is a Canadian poet and short story writer. In 2019, she won an O. Henry Award for her short story, "Slingshot", which was published in Harper's Magazine.[1]
Souvankham Thammavongsa | |
---|---|
Born | 1978 Nong Khai, Thailand |
Occupation | writer |
Nationality | Canadian |
Period | 2000s-present |
Notable works | Small Arguments, Found, Light |
Life
Thammavongsa was born in the (Lao) Nong Khai refugee camp in Thailand in 1978.[2] She and her parents were sponsored by a family in Canada when she was one year old.[3] She was raised and educated in Toronto, Ontario.[4] Her first book, Small Arguments, won a ReLit Award in 2004.[5] Her second book, Found, was made into a short film by Paramita Nath.[6] Her third book, Light, won the Trillium Book Award for Poetry in 2014.[7] Her short story "How to Pronounce Knife" was shortlisted for the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize out of 4000 entries.[8] In 2016, two of her stories, "Mani Pedi" and "Paris," were longlisted for the Journey Prize.[9]
Her first short story collection, How to Pronounce Knife, was published in 2020.[10]
Works
Poetry Collections
- Small Arguments (Pedlar Press, 2003)
- Found (Pedlar Press, 2007)
- Light (Pedlar Press, 2013)
- Cluster (McClelland & Stewart/Penguin Random House, 2019)[11]
Short Stories
- "Ewwrrrkk" (Joyland Magazine, 2015)
- "Mani Pedi" (The Puritan, 2015)
- "How to Pronounce Knife" (subscription required) (Granta, #141, 2017 pp 168 – 173, with a photo of her and her family 1983)
- How to Pronounce Knife (2020)
References
- van Koeverden, Jane (17 May 2019). "Canadians Alexander MacLeod, Souvankham Thammavongsa & John Keeble win O. Henry Prize". CBC News. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
- https://www.poetryinvoice.com/poems/poets/souvankham-thammavongsa
- "Into the Field: Souvankham Thammavongsa". Jacket2. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- "Souvankham Thammavongsa". Versefest. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- "Thammavongsa Souvankham". Poets.ca. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- "Found: The Film (Trailer)". Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- "Trillium Book Award Winners". Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- "2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize Shortlist - Commonwealth Writers". 31 March 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- "Journey Prize longlists Souvankham Thammavongsa twice." Lao American Review. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
- "47 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in spring 2020". CBC Books, February 5, 2020.
- "20 works of Canadian poetry to check out in spring 2019". CBC Books, January 25, 2019.