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Souvankham Thammavongsa

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Souvankham Thammavongsa
Born1978
Nong Khai, Thailand
Occupationwriter
NationalityCanadian
Period2000s–present
Notable worksSmall Arguments, Found, Light, How to Pronounce Knife, Slingshot

Souvankham Thammavongsa is a Laotian 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] and in 2020 her short story collection How to Pronounce Knife won the Giller Prize.[2]

Life

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Thammavongsa was born in the Lao refugee camp in Nong Khai, Thailand in 1978.[3] She and her parents were sponsored by a family in Canada when she was one year old.[4] She was raised and educated in Toronto, Ontario.[5]

She has never taken an MFA course, and says that she has learned to write by reading. Some of her favorite authors are Alice Munro, Carson McCullers, Flannery O'Connor, and Tennessee Williams.[6]

Her first book, Small Arguments, won a ReLit Award in 2004.[7] Her second book, Found, was made into a short film by Paramita Nath.[8] Her third book, Light, won the Trillium Book Award for Poetry in 2014.[9] Her short story "How to Pronounce Knife" was shortlisted for the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize out of 4,000 entries.[10] In 2016, two of her stories, "Mani Pedi" and "Paris," were longlisted for the Journey Prize.[11]

Her first short story collection, How to Pronounce Knife, was published in 2020.[12] Australian literary critic Kerryn Goldsworthy wrote of the stories that "their language is economical but they are emotional timebombs."[13] In the book, she draws upon her childhood as the daughter of Laotian immigrants to tell fourteen stories, each an exploration of foreignness and belonging.[14] The book was shortlisted for the Giller Prize,[15] and won the award on November 9, 2020. In 2021, the book was awarded the $20,000 (Canadian) Trillium Book Award,[16] and was a shortlisted finalist for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award in 2021.[17]

Thammavongsa was a judge for the 2021 Griffin Poetry Prize.[18] She was guest editor for 2021 Best Canadian Poetry (Biblioasis) and in 2024 was the judge for the inaugural Montreal Fiction Prize.[19][20]

Bibliography

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Poetry collections

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Short story collections

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  • How to Pronounce Knife (2020). Penguin.

Short fiction

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Year Title[b] First published Reprinted/collected Notes
2015 "Ewwrrrkk" Joyland Magazine
"Mani Pedi" The Puritan
2017 How to Pronounce Knife Granta, #141 (Special Canada) — pp 168 – 173, with a photo of her and her family 1983
2021 "Good-looking" Thammavongsa, Souvankham (March 1, 2021). "Good-looking". The New Yorker. 97 (2): 54–56.
2024 "Bozo" The New Yorker

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Bibliography notes
  1. ^ Briefly mentioned at "20 works of Canadian poetry to check out in spring 2019". CBC Books, January 25, 2019.
  2. ^ Short stories unless otherwise noted.

References

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  1. ^ van Koeverden, Jane (May 17, 2019). "Canadians Alexander MacLeod, Souvankham Thammavongsa & n O. Henry Prize". CBC News. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  2. ^ Bresge, Adina. "Souvankham Thammavongsa wins Giller Prize for 'How to Pronounce Knife'". Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  3. ^ "Souvankham Thammavongsa". Poetry In Voice. Canada Council for the Arts. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  4. ^ "Into the Field: Souvankham Thammavongsa". Jacket2. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  5. ^ "Souvankham Thammavongsa". Versefest. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  6. ^ "Poet Souvankham Thammavongsa shifts gears with a sharp and steely new collection of short stories". Quill and Quire. March 5, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  7. ^ "Thammavongsa Souvankham". Poets.ca. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  8. ^ "Found: The Film (Trailer)". Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  9. ^ "Trillium Book Award Winners". Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  10. ^ "2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize Shortlist". Commonwealth Writers. March 31, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  11. ^ "Journey Prize longlists Souvankham Thammavongsa twice." Lao American Review. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  12. ^ "47 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in spring 2020". CBC Books, February 5, 2020.
  13. ^ Goldsworthy, Kerryn (August 21, 2020). "Fiction reviews: How to Pronounce Knife and three other titles". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  14. ^ Channing, Cornelia (April 23, 2020). "Laughter as a Shield: An Interview with Souvankham Thammavongsa". The Paris Review. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  15. ^ "3 novels, 2 short story collections shortlisted for $100K Scotiabank Giller Prize". CBC Books, October 5, 2020.
  16. ^ "Souvankham Thammavongsa wins $20K Trillium Book Award for How to Pronounce Knife". CBC Books. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  17. ^ Vicky Qiao, "Jack Wang wins $10K Danuta Gleed Literary Award for best first short story collection for We Two Alone". CBC Books, May 28, 2021.
  18. ^ "Griffin Poetry Prize - 2021 Judges", Griffin Poetry Prize
  19. ^ "Biblioasis - Best Canadian Poetry 2021", Biblioasis Books
  20. ^ "Toronto-based writer Sabrina Fielding named winner of inaugural Montreal Fiction Prize", CBC Books, July 19, 2024.
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