Lakdhas Wikkrama Sinha
Lakdhas Wikkrama Sinha (Sinhala: ලක්දාස් වික්රමසිංහ, 1941–1978) was a Sri Lankan poet who wrote in English and Sinhala. He was educated at St Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka, and studied law before becoming an English teacher. His interest in Sinhala literature led him to experiment with methods of fusing Western and South Asian traditions creatively in his own writing.
A bilingual poet, whose career ended prematurely with his death by drowning, Wikkrama Sinha's first book of verse, Lustre: Poems (Kandy, 1965 ), was written entirely in English in the contrary spirit of one who, finding himself constrained by his education to write in the language of ‘the most despicable people on earth’, had set himself to write as anarchically as possible. This mood did not last. His work appeared in Madrona, Eastern Horizon, New Ceylon Writing, Outposts, University of Chicago Review, and other local and international journals, and was published privately by him in Janakiharana and Other Poems ( 1967 ), Fifteen Poems ( 1970 —both Kandy), and Nossa Senhora dos Chingalas ( 1973 ), O Regal Blood ( 1975 ), and The Grasshopper Gleaming ( 1976 —all Colombo). In honour of a Sri Lankan artist of a previous generation, Wikkramasinha edited and privately published Twelve Poems to Justin Daraniyagala 1903 –67 (Kandy, 1971 ). [1]
References
Bibliography
Books by Lakdhas Wikkrama Sinha
- Lustre: Poems. Kandy: Ariya, 1965.
- Janakiharana and Other Poems. Kandy: 1967.
- Fifteen Poems. Kandy: 1970.
- Nossa Senhora dos Chingalas. Colombo: 1973.
- O Regal Blood. Colombo: 1975.
- The Grasshopper Gleaming. Colombo: 1976.
- Aurudu Mangala Davasa. Colombo: ?.
Works by Lakdhas Wikkrama Sinha in Periodicals
- ’A Straw Pillow’ ’Red, the Coconuts’ ’The Death of Ashanti’ ’Verses’ ’Visiting an Aunt' in Navasilu II 33-7.
- ’Birds,’ ’From the Life of the Folk Poet Ysinno,’ ’In Ancient Kotmale,’ ’Poem -- Tribe’ ’The Muse’ ’The Poet-I’ ’The Poet-II’ ’To my Friend Aldred’ ’Work of a Professor’ in New Ceylon Writing IV 14-24.
- ’In Ancient Kotmale’ ’Stones’ of Akuratiye Walauwa’ ’The Poet’ ’To my Friend Aldred’ in Poems from India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia & Singapore, pp 77–81.
- Journal of South Asian Literature. (1976). vol. XII: The Poetry of Sri Lanka.
- 'The Poet' in Bomb, no. 40. 1992.
Anthologies Containing Works by Lakdhas Wikkrama Sinha
- Goonitilleke, D.C.R.A. (ed.). (2007–2010). Kaleidoscope : an anthology of Sri Lankan English literature. Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publications.
Works about Lakdhas Wikkrama Sinha
- Dissanayake, Wimal. (1979). "A Note on Lakdasa Wikkramasinha's Sinhala Poetry" in Navasilu, II, pp. 31–2
- Gooneratne, Yasmine. (1979). "Dead ere his Prime: In Memory of Lakdasa Wikkramasinha" in New Ceylon Writing, IV, p. 12.
- Haththotuwegama, Gamini. (1979). "The Poetry of Lakdasa Wikkramasinha" in Navasilu, II 24-30.
- Jayatilaka, Lilani. (1987) Love Sex and Marriage in the Poetry of Lakdasa Wikkramasinha.
- Meddegama, U.P. (1979). "New trends in the Language of Sinhala Poetry" in New Ceylon Writing, IV, pp. 137–142.