U Andrew Mya Han (Maung Pauk Si), right, and U Soe Nyunt (Htilar Sitthu) at the ceremony last week.

MYANMAR poets U Soe Nyunt (Htilar Sitthu) and U Andrew Mya Han (Maung Pauk Si) were awarded honorary doctorates of philosophy in poetry by Dublin Metropolitan University at a ceremony in Yangon last week.

The Irish university also named them honorary fellows at the ceremony, held at the YMCA in downtown Yangon on June 15.

“I am very happy for myself and proud of the awards. I am very proud for my country. I am especially proud for Myanmar poetry and literature,” U Soe Nyunt (Htilar Sitthu) told Myanmar Times.

He said the awards were unexpected, but he felt they were the result of the widespread publication of his books in Myanmar and abroad.

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He said the importance of the ceremony was highlighted by the presence of the vice chancellor of the university, Dr Desmond Fleming, who traveled to Myanmar to present the awards.

U Soe Nyunt (Htilar Sitthu) said he started writing poetry when he was 14 and began serving in the army when he was 18. He reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel before retiring. He is also a former deputy minister of the Ministry of Information and Ministry of Culture.

“U Soe Nyunt (Htilar Sitthu) is beacon of light of Myanmar culture,” said Dr Philip Dews, a professor emeritus at the university who has lived in Myanmar for11 years.

U Soe Nyunt (Htilar Sitthu) has written more than 1000 poems, which have been collected in 24 books that have been translated into several languages.

He is most well known for the collection O Withered Leaf from River Mekong and Other Poems, which has been translated into English, Japanese, French, German and Chinese, and the epic poem Sound of Bell from Nagasaki, which has been translated into English and Japanese.

U Andrew Mya Han (Maung Pauk Si), a former Anglican archbishop of Myanmar, has published five books of poetry, one of which has been translated into English.

The ceremony was attended by about 400 people.