- Siri Gunasinghe
Siri Gunasinghe (Sinhala "siri gunasiṃha"; born February 18, 1925) is a premier Sinhalese
poet ,novelist andliterary critic .Career
Gunasinghe taught at the
University of Peradeniya ,Sri Lanka , and at theUniversity of Victoria ,British Columbia ,Canada ; he has been living in Canada since 1970.His most outstanding achievement is the introduction of
free verse into Sinhalese poetry with the publication of the collection of poems "Hevanälla" ("The Shadow") in 1960, which caused a major upstir in the literary community at the time. Gunasinghe is one of the most important advocates of the use ofspoken language instead of theliterary language in Sinhalese literature (seeDiglossia ).He also designed costumes (e.g. for Prof.
Ediriweera Sarachchandra 's play "Manamē ") and directed the critically acclaimed movie "Satsamudra" ("The seven Seas"). He is also considered a pioneerbook cover designer in Sri Lanka and has hosted severalradio programmes.Works
inhala
*Abinikmana ("The Renunciation of worldly Life")
*Cirantana sampradāya hā pragatiya ("Tradition and Innovation"; "non-fiction work")
*Hevanälla ("The Shadow")
*Mandārama ("Rainy Sky")
*Mas lē näti äṭa ("Bones without Flesh and Blood")
*Ratu käkuḷa ("The red Bud")
*Satsamudra ("The seven Seas")Other languages
*Masks of Ceylon
*Buddhist Paintings from Sri Lanka (Kandy Period)
*La Technique de la Peinture Indienneee also
*
Sri Lankan literature External links
* [http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2005/02/27/fea03.html] - Tribute from Prof. Sunanda Mahendra
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
