Dylan Thomas Prize awarded to war poetry collection
2nd December 2010
US poet Elyse Fenton has won the University of Wales Dylan Thomas Prize for her collection Clamor.
The book, which is a collection of 21st century war poems dealing with subjects such as the conflict in Iraq and how it affects people in the US, is the first work of poetry to win the biennial GBP 30,000 award.
Hay Literary Festival founder Peter Florence, the chair of the judging panel, said: 'It's a great winner. It's an astonishing, fully accomplished book of huge ambition and spectacular delivery.'
The shortlist for the prize comprised Watering Can by Caroline Bird, Eleanor Catton's The Rehearsal, And This is True by Emily Mackie, Nadifa Mohamed's Black Mamba Boy and Family Planning by Karan Mahajan.
Commenting earlier in the year, Florence lauded the selected works for their 'incredible diversity of culture, experience and geography'.
In 2008, the University of Wales Dylan Thomas Prize was won by Australia-based writer Nam Le for his short story collection The Boat.