Paiwarin Khao-Ngam was born in Roi Et Province, northeastern Thailand, on 10 February 1961, to a poor family of rice farmers. His early education was litte different from boys in the same neighborhood. He attended a local school and must have suffered severe hardship keeping up with school work and helping with the family chores at the same time. Conditions in rural Thailand, particularly the Northeast, are often extremely harsh, and it takes exceptional persons not only to survive, but also to excel. Paiwarin happens to be one of them.
What may be regarded as a turning point in his life occurred when he enrolled as a monk of the Buddhist Sangha College, in Ayutthaya Province, central Thailand, for the latter part of his secondary education. For a few years after graduation, he continued to help with the teaching of Thai language and literature at the College, in repayment for the opportunity to further his studies.
After leaving the monkshood, he moved to Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, end worked as a proof reader for a local daily, before being promoted to full time reporter. In the year 1984, Paiwarin decided to journey to Bangkok. After holding one odd job after another, as well es working on and off for several magazines, he now holds the position of a freelance columnist with the well -known Thai newspaper, Siam Rath, on whose pages appear regularly the latest outputs from his prolific pen.
The book Banana Tree Horse is the seventh compilation of Paiwarin's poetry to appear in print, and is the recipient of the highly coveted S.E.A. Write Award for 1995.