MILAN Rúfus, one of Slovakia's most renowned poets, has been awarded the 2008 Crane Summit award. The prize includes the translation of his poems into Chinese, the SITA newswire wrote.
Rúfus will officially accept the award in the form of a gold medal and a check for $30,000 in Bratislava in December prior to his 80th birthday.
The shortlist of poets included Tomas Tranströmer of Switzerland and Gioconda Belli of Nicaragua. The winner was selected by five writers from three continents including Milan Richter, a Slovak poet and translator.
Yu Hsi, photographer, poet, writer and founder of the Crane Summit 21st Century International (Poetry) Forum, announced the name of the laureate in Bratislava on April 3.
At the ceremony in Mirbach Palace, Yu Hsi from Taiwan received the Ján Smrek Award. The Taiwanese poet translated some of Smrek's poems into Chinese and recited one of them at the evening, which was attended by the former Slovak president Michal Kováč and other dignitaries.
