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] and in 2020 her short story collection How to Pronounce Knife won the Giller Prize.[2]

Souvankham Thammavongsa
Born1978
Nong Khai, Thailand
Occupationwriter
NationalityCanadian
Period2000s-present
Notable worksSmall Arguments, Found, Light

Life

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] Her first book, Small Arguments, won a ReLit Award in 2004.[6] Her second book, Found, was made into a short film by Paramita Nath.[7] Her third book, Light, won the Trillium Book Award for Poetry in 2014.[8] Her short story "How to Pronounce Knife" was shortlisted for the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize out of 4,000 entries.[9] In 2016, two of her stories, "Mani Pedi" and "Paris," were longlisted for the Journey Prize.[10]

Her first short story collection, How to Pronounce Knife, was published in 2020.[11] Australian literary critic Kerryn Goldsworthy wrote of them that "their language is economical but they are emotional timebombs".[12] The book was shortlisted for the Giller Prize,[13] and won the award on November 9, 2020.

Thammavongsa is a judge for the 2021 Griffin Poetry Prize.[14]

Works

Poetry collections
  • Small Arguments (Pedlar Press, 2003)
  • Found (Pedlar Press, 2007)
  • Light (Pedlar Press, 2013)
  • Cluster (McClelland & Stewart/Penguin Random House, 2019)[15]

Short stories
  • "Ewwrrrkk" (Joyland Magazine, 2015)
  • "Mani Pedi" (The Puritan, 2015)
  • How to Pronounce Knife. (subscription required) (Granta, #141 special Canada, 2017, pp 168 – 173, with a photo of her and her family 1983)
  • How to Pronounce Knife. Stories. Penguin (2020, 192 pp)

References
  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. "Thammavongsa Souvankham". Poets.ca. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  7. "Found: The Film (Trailer)". Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  8. "Trillium Book Award Winners". Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  9. "2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize Shortlist". Commonwealth Writers. March 31, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  10. "Journey Prize longlists Souvankham Thammavongsa twice." Lao American Review. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  11. "47 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in spring 2020". CBC Books, February 5, 2020.
  12. Goldsworthy, Kerryn (August 21, 2020). "Fiction reviews: How to Pronounce Knife and three other titles". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  13. "3 novels, 2 short story collections shortlisted for $100K Scotiabank Giller Prize". CBC Books, October 5, 2020.
  14. "Griffin Poetry Prize - 2021 Judges", Griffin Poetry Prize
  15. "20 works of Canadian poetry to check out in spring 2019". CBC Books, January 25, 2019.
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