For the past decade, the Windham Campbell Prize has celebrated literary achievement and nurtured talent. The brainchild of literary couple, Donald Windham and Sandy M Campbell, for years they discussed the idea of creating an award to highlight literary achievement and provide writers with the opportunity to focus on their work independent of financial concerns. When Campbell died unexpectedly in 1988, Windham took on the responsibility for making this shared dream a reality. With total prize money now exceeding $14m, each recipient is gifted an unrestricted grant of $165,000.

This year the award has recognised eight writers across the genres of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama. “This year’s winners,” says Mike Kelleher, Director of the Windham-Campbell Prizes, “are led by a trailblazing group of global women’s voices, these writers’ ambitious, skilful, and moving work bridges the distance between the history of nations and a deeply personal sense of self.”

One of those winners is the distinctively experimental poet Wong May. Born in China, raised in Singapore, May married the Irish physicist and postgraduate fellow at Trinity College, Michael Coey. They live in Dublin with their son, where May also works as an artist.

May’s career spans more than six decades, with her most recent collection – Picasso’s Tears – appearing after a literary absence of more than 40 years. Described as tender, readable and intensely involved, May’s work is also defined by its arrangement – often in a rising and falling pattern – on the page. Volumes are spoken with space, between sparse and unflinching language – yet the subject matter is universal and often humorous. May has suggested in the poem Picasso’s Tears, “You write what’s been handed to you by life. You do not choose the itinerary.”

Speaking about this award May says, “This is a complete surprise, & miraculous coming from America! I have gone underground with my poetry for 40 years.” The use of the ampersand is not a typo by the way, but one of her linguistic trademarks, as shown in one of her poems, as follows:

Landscape

Watching Lucia paint

Fox-gloves: Your brush, running

in & out

of the tall grass. Fox

of that half-seen purple!

(the hand shakes a little 

          across the canvas)

Swifter than the green is in April,

More

Contagious – 

Until

the whole field is yours 

          in summer

a breathlessness. Purple

on green. Purple in 

& out

of the green. Fox

half-seen

Sister of my spirits

float

as the wind floats

across the field

Purple the wild grass

For full details of the other prize winners visit www.windhamcampbell.org.

Portrait of Wong May by Paul Napo.