Angel Hu, Contributing Photographer

Literary enthusiasts gathered in the auditorium of the Yale Center for British Art for the annual Windham-Campbell Prizes award ceremony Wednesday evening. 

Supporting writers with a grant of $175,000, the Windham-Campbell Prizes are among the most prestigious literary awards in the world. 

Founded by Donald Windham in memory of his partner Sandy Campbell, the prizes honor writers throughout the world and at various stages of their career. Winners are nominated, selected by a 12-member jury and nine-member selection committee, and notified of their award in March.

“The prizes allow us to find an incredible array of voices who engage with the world through different forms and bring their different ideas and experiences,” Michael Kelleher, the director of the prizes, told the News. 

This year’s winners encompass a range of genres, nationalities, voices and lived experiences.

At the ceremony, University President Maurie McInnis announced the award recipients — Tongo Eisen-Martin and Anthony V. Capildeo in poetry; Sigrid Nunez and Anne Enright in fiction; Roy Williams and Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini in drama; and Patricia J. Williams and Rana Dasgupta in nonfiction. 

After McInnis presented the prizes, award-winning poet, critic and essayist Kwame Dawes delivered the keynote address. In his speech, Dawes discussed his own creative process, motivation behind writing and his view on the impact of literature in the world. 

Dawes began with acknowledging the financial difficulties many artists face — quipping that when reading a biography of James Baldwin, he was struck by its numerous mentions of financial struggle — and commended the prize for its monetary support.

One main theme of the address was the role of literature in addressing historical and contemporary issues. 

“I do not feel burdened as a poet when faced with the knowledge of my place in the history of colonialism, slavery and their effects on those I call my people, as well as the world in which I live,” Dawes said. “Poetry has long been a shelter and a kind of answer to that burden for meaning and understanding that comes with facing this history, this reality.” 

Dawes continued, describing how he writes because he believes he is “enacting a wider conversation,” and he finds “liberation between history and truth.” He closed by expressing his desire to write “in an attempt to share my deepest self.”

Tongo Eisen-Martin, one of the poetry awardees, expressed his gratitude for the prize, calling it an “incredible honor,” especially during these times when “the stakes of survival are rising so high.” 

“If my poetry could help snap people out of this imperialist hegemony that has grown more dominant than ever, then it’s a worthwhile preoccupation,” Eisen-Martin said.

Throughout the rest of the week, prize recipients will deliver lectures and host workshops discussing their craft and artistic vision.

The festival will culminate with an evening of readings by the winners, taking place at the Yale Center for British Art. 

“The power of literature is mysterious and quiet. I feel like people often misunderstand the kind of change that literature produces, so I hope encountering these voices will allow people to realize these quiet changes,” Kelleher told the News.  

A schedule of the upcoming talks and presentations can be found on the Windham-Campbell Prizes website. 

Correction, Sept. 18: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to Donald Windham as David Windham.