The Cikada Prize is awarded to an East Asian poet, who ”in his/her poems defends the inviolability of life”. The award was founded in 2004 in connection with the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Swedish Nobel Prize laureate in literature 1974, Harry Martinson. It consists of SEK 30,000 and art work by the Swedish ceramic artist Gunilla Sundström.
The Swedish Institute finances the award, which normally is presented by the Ambassador or Consul General of Sweden in the country where the recipient resides.
The name of the award was inspired by Martinson’s poetry collection Cikada, which was published in 1953. The award is given to East Asian poets, as a recognition of the great inspiration Harry Martinson found for his own poetry in East Asian literature, but also because the rich poetry of these countries deserves better international recognition.
The Cikada Prize jury members are Göran Bäckstrand, Henrik C. Enbohm, Maude Fröberg, Anna Gustafsson Chen (chair), Birgitta Wallin och Lars Vargö.
Cikadapriset 