By Levi Wright
Ali Cobby Eckermann is living her own rags-to-riches story. The Australian native, who has been a member of the International Writing Program, was recently announced as a winner of the 2017 Windham Campbell Prize.
Eckermann had been unemployed for some time prior to the announcement and, in fact, received notice of the award while living in a caravan.
“It’s going to change my life completely,” Eckermann said in an interview with the Guardian Australia. “My son and my grandsons are moving back to South Australia in the next few months, and it will just allow us some stability to grow up together under the one roof.”
Now, Eckermann, who was awarded in the category of poetry, has been granted $165,000.
Eckermann first rose to fame in te late 2000s, going on to win numerous awards for her work. One notable piece, “Inside My Mother,” tells the story of indigenous children being taken from their families by the Australian government in the early 20th century. Eckermann was one of these children and has since found some healing through poetry.
“I was 34 when I finally found my mother. Four years later, my son was returned to me [he was 18]. My family taught us culture, and I healed through poetry. An award of this magnitude will continue the healing for many of us,” Eckermann told to the Windham Campbell organization.
In order to win the Windham Campbell Prize, participants do not submit their work. Instead, their work is chosen from selected nominators who are experts in their field.
“They may be writers, academics, critics, librarians, booksellers, editors, theater producers, directors, former prizewinners, and others whose recognized expertise serves to produce a range of nominees that represents the breadth, depth, and excellence of literary production in the English-speaking world,” writes the Windham Campbell organization.