7th January Prize: Is It Only Genocide Poetry?

Abstract

The 7 January Literary Competition was fi rst held by the Khmer Writers’ Association in 1996. The fi rst prize winner was Yiang Sakunee, who wrote ‘The Crow Has Gone.’ The second prize was awarded to Van Sun, who wrote ‘Dream Paradise’ and the third prize was given to Sin Touch, who wrote ‘Meaningless Life under the Devil’s System.’  Not only did the 7 January Prize serve as poetry that recorded the Cambodian Genocide that took place during 1975-1979, it also served as a political tool for Hun Sen, the award’s patron. This is because in this poetry, the Khmer Rouge was personifi ed as a villain, whereas Vietnam was admired as a great partner, and Hun Sen was portrayed as a signifi cant cultural patron, which helped him draw political admiration from Cambodians.