Anaxagorou wins Ondaatje prize

In the UK, British-Cypriot poet Anthony Anaxagorou has won the Royal Society of Literature’s (RSL) £10,000 (A$18,730) Ondaatje prize for his collection Heritage Aesthetics (Granta), reports the Guardian.

Heritage Aesthetics looks at time and place in its exploration of British imperial history and present-day racism, and is shaped by the author’s family’s migratory history between Cyprus and the UK.

Chair of judges, journalist Samira Ahmed, said Anaxagorou’s poetry ‘is beautiful, but does not sugarcoat’. ‘The arsenic of historical imperial arrogance permeates the Britain he explores in his writing,’ said Ahmed. ‘And the joy of this collection comes from his strength, knowledge, maturity, but also from deeply felt love.’

The Ondaatje Prize is awarded to a distinguished work of fiction, nonfiction or poetry that evokes the spirit of a place. Michelle de Kretser’s Scary Monsters (A&U) was one of five books shortlisted for this year’s prize.

For more information, see the RSL website.

Category: International news