fiction.wikisort.org - Writer

Search / Calendar

Lama Hewage Don Martin Wickramasinghe, MBE (commonly known as Martin Wickramasinghe) (Sinhala: මාර්ටින් වික්‍රමසිංහ) (29 May 1890 – 23 July 1976) was a Sri Lankan journalist and author. His books have been translated into several languages.[1] Wickramasinghe is often acclaimed as the father of modern Sinhala literature.[2][3][4][5]

Martin Wickramasinghe

MBE
Born
Lama Hewage Don Martin Wickramasinghe

(1890-05-29)29 May 1890
Koggala, British Ceylon
Died23 July 1976(1976-07-23) (aged 86)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Occupation
  • Journalist
  • author
Years active1914–1976
SpouseKataluwe Balage Prema de Silva
Children6, including Sarath Kusum Wickramasinghe
Websitemartinwickramasinghe.info

Early life


Born Lama Hewage Don Martin Wickramasinghe, on 29 May 1890, in the town of Koggala (Galle District),[6] as the only son of Lamahewage Don Bastian Wickramasinghe (father) and Magalle Balapitiya Liyanage Thochchohamy (mother).

At the age of five Wickramasinghe was taught the Sinhala alphabet, at home and in the village temple, by a monk, Andiris Gurunnanse. He also learned the Devanagari script and could recite by memory long sections of the Hitopadesa. After two years he was taken to a vernacular school where he prospered until 1897 when he was sent to an English school in Galle called Buona Vista . In the two years spent at the school Wickramasinghe became fluent in English as well as Latin. When his father died in 1901, he returned to a vernacular school in Ahangama and subsequently lost interest in schooling.[3][4][5]

Having left school, at the age of 16 years Wickramasinghe found work as a book-keeper in a shop in Colombo owned by Carolis Silva in 1906. Following year he leaves the shop to join a commissions agency run by John Silva. in 1910, his mother dies. Following the 1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots, John Silva's agency was closed and he returned to Koggala. He then became a book-keeper at Cornelis Silva's shop in Batticaloa.


Journalism career


In 1916, Martin Wickramasinghe starts to write to the Sinhala daily Dinamina under the penname Hethu Vaadi (Rationalist) and pens a controversial series called "Plants and Animals". He then joins the editorial staff of Dinamina, owned by the press baron D. R. Wijewardena's Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL). In 1927, he leaves Dinamina to join Lakmina. In 1931, he returns to ANCL as the editor of Sinhala weekend paper Silumina. In 1932, he was appointed editor of Dinamina, serving until his resignation in 1946.[7]


Literary career


His literary career began with the novel Leela (1914) and an anthology of essays on literary criticism, Shastriya Lekhana (1919). Shortly thereafter he began a campaign to raise literary standards for the Sinhalese reading public with work such as Sahityodaya Katha (1932), Vichara Lipi (1941), Guttila Geetaya (1943) and Sinhala Sahityaye Nageema (1946) in which he evaluated the traditional literally heritage according to set rules of critical criteria formed by synthesising the best in Indian and western traditions of literary criticism.[2][3][8][9][10]

Through the 1940s Wickramasinghe dabbled with the double role of literary critic and creative writer. Gamperaliya (1944) is widely held as the first Sinhalese novel with a serious intent that compares, in content and technique, with the great novels of modern world literature. The novel depicts the crumbling of traditional village life under the pressure of modernisation. The story of a successful family in a Southern village is used to portray the gradual replacement of traditional economic and social structure of the village by commercial city influence.[3][5]

Wickramasinghe followed Gamperaliya with Yuganthaya (1948) and Kaliyugaya (1957) forming a trilogy. After the decay of the traditional life, the story details the rise of the bourgeoisie, with its urban base and entrepreneurial drive, ending with the formation of the labour movement and socialist theology and rise of hopes for a new social order. The trilogy was made into film by the renowned Sri Lankan director Dr. Lester James Peries.[4][8]

With the development of a literary criticism movement in the early-'50s, Wickramasinghe presented the works Sahitya Kalava ('The Art of Literature' 1950) and Kawya Vicharaya ('The Criticism of Poetry' 1954). Wickramasinghe was appointed a member of the Radio Broadcasting Commission in 1953 and in 1954 was appointed to the National Languages Commission, from which he resigned three months later. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1953 Coronation Honours with the ensign awarded by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in person during her Royal Visit to Ceylon in 1954.[8]

Wickramasinghe's most heralded work came in 1956 with Viragaya. Due to the significance of its theme and the sophistication of its technique, the novel has come to be hailed as the greatest work of Sinhalese fiction. It follows the spiritual problems of a fragile Sinhalese youth raised in a traditional Buddhist home after being confronted with the spectre of adulthood and the responsibilities that come with it all made more complex with the modernisation of society. First-person narrative is used to put forth the autobiographical story of the anti-hero in impressionistic vignettes rather than in chronological order. It is a seminal work and spawned a spew of imitators, some good on their own right.[2]


Peradeniya school and poet


Wickramasinghe was an early practitioner of the genre of poetry called nisandas, which ignored the restrictions placed on poetry by the traditional prosodic patterns. It drew inspiration from the work of Eliot, Pound, Whitman and other western poets and was part of a movement called Peradeniya School. Wickramasinghe's work was Teri Gi (1952).

The movement dissolved in the 1960s prompted by Wickramasinghe's contention that other writers of the Peradeniya School were not sensitive to cultural traditions and the Buddhist background of Sinhalese society. He accused Ediriweera Sarachchandra, Gunadasa Amarasekara and others of imitating "decadent" western and post-war Japanese literature and of supporting a nihilistic look on life with cynical disregard for national tradition.


Later years


Wickramasinghe visited Cuba on the invitation of the Cuban Government in 1968. In 1973, Wickramasinghe wrote a new biography of Buddha titled Bava Taranaya. In it the great teacher's change from royal heir in-waiting to philosopher-mendicant is portrayed as being a result of his sympathy to the poor and the downtrodden of society. Wickramasinghe died on 23 July 1976 and his home is now a folk museum.[5]


Personal life


Wickramasinghe married Kataluwe Balage Prema de Silva on 30 November 1925. They move to Mount-Lavinia, where their first child Susantha Manuwarna is born and dies 3 months later. They would six more children, three sons and three daughters. Their eldest son Sarath Kusum Wickramasinghe, served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1995 to 1999. Wickramasinghe built himself a house Samudrasanna Road, Mount-Lavinia in 1939. In 1941, his family home in Koggala is taken over by the military when RAF Koggala was established during world war 2. In 1950, he sold his house and moved to Thimbirigasyaya to allow his children to attend university. In 1956, he moved to Bandarawela, where he took up residence.


Honors and awards



Publications


A comprehensive list of publications of Martin Wikramasinghe,[11]

Novels

Collections of short stories

Plays

Literary criticism

Evolution and Anthropology

Philosophy

Autobiography

Biography

Books in English

History

Travel


Translations in other languages


Books translated in to other languages,[12]


Films and television productions


Films and television productions, based on Martin Wikramasinghe's books,[13]

Feature films

Television


Martin Wickramasinghe Trust


Martin Wickramasinghe Trust is an approved by the Government of Sri Lanka as a charitable organization. The Martin Wickramasinghe Trust has been established with the objectives of preservation of manuscripts, first editions of all his books, tape recording and photographs related to his life and work. Martin Wickramasinghe House & Folk Museum in Koggala also operated by Martin Wickramasinghe Trust Fund.


References


  1. "Martin Wickramasinghe: About Author". www.martinwickramasinghe.info. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  2. Martin Wickramasinghe: Literary colossus of the last Century by Dr. W. A. Abeysinghe (Island) Accessed 2016-09-27
  3. Biographical sketch of Martin Wickramasinghe by Dr. Ranga Wickramasinghe (Daily News) Accessed 2016-09-27
  4. Martin Wickramasinghe at 120 Archived 1 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine by Kalakeerthi Edwin Ariyadasa (Sunday Observer) Accessed 2016-09-27
  5. He wrote for children too Archived 3 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine by Sumana Saparamadu (Sunday Observer) Accessed he dies in 1976-09-27
  6. "Martin Wickramasinghe describes father Peace Officer Bastian Wickramasinghe 's skill in investigating crime in this last section of the sixth chapter of Upan Da Sita".
  7. "Biography". martinwickramasinghe.info. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  8. Martin Wickramasinghe: An icon of world intellectual heritage by Dr. W. A. Abeysinghe (Daily News) Accessed 2016-09-27
  9. "Martin Wickramasinghe, Sri Lanka's Renowned Writer Biography and Bibliography". www.martinwickramasinghe.org. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  10. LTD, Lankacom PVT. "The Island". www.island.lk. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  11. Gunawardana, C. A. (2003). Encyclopedia of Sri Lanka. New Delhi: Sterlin Publishers Privet Limited. pp. 309, 310. ISBN 81-207-2536-0.
  12. Gunawardana, C. A. (2003). Encyclopedia of Sri Lanka. New Delhi: Sterlin Publishers Privet Limited. p. 311. ISBN 81-207-2536-0.
  13. Gunawardana, C. A. (2003). Encyclopedia of Sri Lanka. New Delhi: Sterlin Publishers Privet Limited. p. 312. ISBN 81-207-2536-0.



На других языках


- [en] Martin Wickramasinghe

[ru] Викрамасинге, Мартин

Мартин Викрамасинге (синг. මාර්ටින් වික්‍රමසිංහ; 29 мая 1890 года — 23 июля 1976 года) — ланкийский писатель, литературный критик, мыслитель и общественный деятель. Из-за бедности не получил никакого образования. В молодости сменил массу профессий: был коммивояжером, приказчиком и т. д. Творческую деятельность начал в 1914 году. Всё его творчество можно разделить на три этапа: работа внештатным корреспондентом газеты «Динамика» (1914—1920), работа профессиональным журналистом в различных газетах (1920—1946), писательская деятельность (1947—1976).



Текст в блоке "Читать" взят с сайта "Википедия" и доступен по лицензии Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike; в отдельных случаях могут действовать дополнительные условия.

Другой контент может иметь иную лицензию. Перед использованием материалов сайта WikiSort.org внимательно изучите правила лицензирования конкретных элементов наполнения сайта.

2019-2025
WikiSort.org - проект по пересортировке и дополнению контента Википедии