Leading Sri Lankan poet Jean Arasanayagam passes away

July 31, 2019 12:59 pm

Jean Arasanayagam, renowned Sri Lankan contemporary poet and fiction writer, has passed away yesterday (30) at the age of 88 due to an illness.

Arasanayagam, who was born into a family of Dutch Burghers on 1931, has made irreplaceable contributions to the Sri Lankan literature through her noteworthy works such as The Life of the Poet, Apocalypse ‘83 and The Cry of the Kite.

She was awarded the National Award for Literature in 1984 and she bagged the Gratiaen Prize 2017 for The Life of the Poet.

Arasanayagam was also honoured with a doctorate in letters by Bowdoin College in the USA.

Speaking to Ada Derana, a spokesperson of St. Anthony’s College in Kandy, where she had worked for years as a teacher, said the funeral of Arasanayagam will take place on Friday.

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