Oya: About the Name

Oya is the name of a river in West Africa and Jakuta, a more ancient name for Sango, a divinity and the fourth deified king of Oyo, both divinities of Oyoruba culture, specifically possesed of the energy associated with change, and electricity, and the very air itself; while this prize is resolutely a secular endeavour, air is perhaps, after water, the only thing all human beings usually agree that they need to survive, the arts, and specifically words are as vital to every culture as air itself; most importantly, the energy of thunder, rain and lightning that belong also to this deity are emblems of the wonders of creation and creativity, the same wonder that the superlative beauty of a writer’s words are capable of effecting on the human spirit, whether wrought with anger, joy or sadness or produced for war or beauty.