• 
• 

Published on August 29, 2007

Poet Montree Sriyong, 39, has won the 2007 SeaWrite Award for his book of poems entitled "Loke Nai Duang Ta Kapajao" (The World in My Eyes).

Montree, who runs a duck noodle shop in Hat Yai, down in Songkhla province, and has been dubbed "Kavi Mee Ped" (duck noodle poet) by the press, won the hearts of judges over the other seven finalists.

A university dropout, Montree is a keen reader of Thai and foreign classics. He started writing seriously after the bloodbath in May 1992.

Possessed with a powerful imagination he describes life in his rural village near Hat Yai. The panel judges chaired by Chamaiporn Saengkrachang said at yesterday's news conference they were impressed with Montree's keen eye for day-to-day life and society as a whole.

One of the best verses in the book is how Montree enjoys making noodles so much he achieves "Nipan" (Nirvana), the Buddhist state of being free from the cycle of birth and death.

Montree doesn't use 'Chantalak' - traditional Thai rhyme - but rather free verse, which judge Naowarat Pongpaiboon says can only be achieved by someone who has a strong foundation in poetry.

Naowarat, who was the SeaWrite winner in 1980, said: "Montree reflects a unique adaptation of the southern poet characterised by numbers that separate each verse, with sounds that are reminiscent of the Southern Ta-loong. Through making noodles, he writes about how his work reflects a Dharma philosophy."

Montree's poems also deal with the deteriorating situation in Thailand's southern-most provinces.

"Sometimes you can be laughing, then the next moment you are being shot," said Dr Trisilpa Boonkhachorn.

Despite the more serious messages, Naowarat says this is fun poetry that everyone can understand, and includes poems on MSN

 

chats, homosexuality, a cowboy on a motorcycle, and a visually impaired man.

The judging panel that announced yesterday's result included Naowarat, Chiranan Pitpreecha, the SeaWrite winner in 1989, Asst Prof Dr Trisilpa Boonkhachorn, Prof Dr Kusuma Raksamani, Pimol Chamcharas, and Adul Jantrasak.

Earlier, the panel had to deal with accusations from the "literature society of Thailand" that SeaWrite judges were corrupt because they only gave awards to their closest friends and had no expertise on the subject of literature. This matter has not yet been settled.

The award-winning author is due to meet the press at the Oriental Hotel at 2pm today.

Lisnaree Vichitsorasatra

 The Nation