Nu Nu Yi ( my, နုနုရည်, ; also referred to as Nu Nu Yi (Inwa) (နုနုရည် (အင်းဝ)), is a Burmese author. Known for portraying the lives of underprivileged Burmese in her works, she has drawn scrutiny from government censors. Her novel ''Smile As They Bow'' (1994), for which she was nominated for the 2007

Man Asian Literary Prize The Man Asian Literary Prize was an annual literary award between 2007 and 2012, given to the best novel by an Asian writer, either written in English or translated into English, and published in the previous calendar year. It is awarded to writer ...

, was censored for more than 12 years. English version was published in 2008 by Hyperion Est. She was born in a village near

Inwa Inwa (, or ; also spelled Innwa; formerly known as Ava), located in Mandalay Region, Myanmar, is an ancient imperial capital of successive Burmese kingdoms from the 14th to 19th centuries. Throughout history, it was sacked and rebuilt numerou ...

in 1959, and has written 15 novels, 100 short stories and several magazine articles since 1984. Nu Nu Yi's work is known for its depictions of the underprivileged in Burma; her short stories have included themes such as social injustice, and have, as a result, been censored by the

military government A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...

. Her writings have been acclaimed, however, by activists such as

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from ...

. ''What Can I Do For You'' and ''Emerald Green Blue Kamayut'', Myanmar National Literary Award winner for 1993, are also her works. Her books were translated into Japanese. She participated in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

International Writing Program The International Writing Program (IWP) is a writing residency for international artists in Iowa City, Iowa. Since 2014, the program offers online courses to many writers and poets around the world. Since its inception in 1967, the IWP has hosted o ...

in 2000.

References

External links

Photo of Nu Nu YiReview on ''Smile as They Bow''
{{authority control Living people Burmese novelists 1957 births People from Mandalay Region International Writing Program alumni Women novelists Burmese women short story writers 20th-century novelists 20th-century short story writers 20th-century Burmese writers 21st-century Burmese writers 21st-century novelists 21st-century short story writers 20th-century Burmese women writers 21st-century Burmese women writers Mandalay University alumni