Pira Sudham was born in Na Pho, Buriram Province, Thailand. He was born in 1942 into a family of farmers. Although his family was poor, he was sent to study in Bangkok when he was fourteen. While he was there he worked in a temple assisting monks. He finished his early education and went on to study at Chulalongkorn University, Auckland University and also Victoria University of Wellington. He later won a scholarship from the New Zealand government, which started 12 years of travel for him. Sudham took as his subject matter the lives of people he knew from the villages of his early childhood. He also draws on his own life circumstances and experiences. Tourists staying in luxury hotels in Thailand will have know difficulty finding his books in local bookstores.
In 1990 Sudham was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature for his book Monsoon Country. It tells the story of a poor farmer’s son who goes from a small village in Thailand to study in England. The book looks at the corruption and poverty faced by villagers in certain areas in Esarn. The action takes place from 1954 through 1080, which coincides with a period of great change in Thailand. Some of the topics that are focused on include the military suppression of the 1970s, the student movement, and the cultural clash between Eastern and Western societies. Another of his books, People of Esarn, also deals with the poverty of the region. This book is a collection of short stories and essays that address environmental issues as well as criminal aspects facing the poorest of villagers. The Force of Karma is Sudham’s sequel to Monsoon Country. This book begins in 1981 and continues through to 2001. Corruption continues to be a major focus with the action centering on the turbulent years of the last two decades of the century. Sudham is a social activist and divides his time between England and his advocacy programs in Northeast Thailand.
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