Arundhati Roy Chosen for U.S. Prize

[Guest guest]

This acually happened a month or two back, but I just heard about it,

so I apologize if it's old news to you. Arundhati Roy is, of course,

the Booker Prize winning author of "The God of Small Things" (and an

acquaintance of her fellow Keralite our very own co-moderator,

kochu1tz). She's more of a social activist than a novelist these

days, and much of her best writing consists in criticism of the

imperialist thrust of the current Bush II administration (for a

recent example, see

http://website.lineone.net/~jon.simmons/roy/confemp2.htm). Anyway,

here's the article on her latest prize:

 

NEW DELHI, Jan. 23, 2003: Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy has been

selected by the U.S.-based Lannan Foundation for its fourth annual

$350,000 Prize for Cultural Freedom.

 

"As both an artist and global citizen, Arundhati Roy writes about

civil societies that are adversely affected by the world's most

powerful governments and corporations. We are honoured to celebrate

her life and her ongoing work in the struggle for freedom, justice

and cultural diversity," foundation president J. Patrick Lannan, Jr,

said in a release from Santa Fe in the US.

 

Roy will receive $350,000 in prize money, and she has announced that

the money would be shared by 50 people's movements, publications,

educational institutions, theatre groups and individuals in India,

the release said.

 

The Prize for Cultural Freedom was established to recognise people

whose extraordinary and courageous work celebrates the human right to

freedom of imagination, inquiry and expression.

 

Roy first gained international recognition in 1997 with her first and

only work of fiction to date The God of Small Things. Later, in The

Cost of Living, she condemned the Pokhran II nuke tests and

displacement of the poor and tribals by the construction of massive

hydroelectric dams.

 

Her recent book Power Politics discusses privatisation of the

country's power sector and the politics of writing. She was sentenced

to one day in jail by the Supreme Court on contempt of court charges

last year.

 

Source: http://website.lineone.net/~jon.simmons/roy/prize031.htm