James Goonewardene

James Alexander Shedden-Goonewardene (1921–1997) was a Sri Lankan writer. He was born in Pannala, Sri-Lanka, and was raised in Matara, Sri Lanka. He was the son of Mabel Alice Goonewardene and James Robert Shedden, a police inspector serving in the remote town of Pannala, Sri-Lanka. After his birth the family moved to Matara, Sri-Lanka, where they spent several years before moving to Harmer's Avenue in Wellawatte, Colombo. He studied at the University of London. During the 1950s, he began writing stories while working as a school teacher. In 1963, he became a broadcaster for Radio Ceylon while writing skits and dramas for the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.

James' first novel A Quiet Place was published in 1968, followed by Call of the Kirala in 1971. In 1978, he left broadcasting to devote himself full-time to writing.[1] He published more English language novels than any other Sri-Lankan author. His work suffered some heavy criticism because English was becoming marginalized in the nationalistic passion in Sri-Lanka during the 1960s and the 1971 JVP Insurrection.[2] He was the first Sri-Lankan author to have a novel published by Penguin India and has received retroactive acclaim.[3][4]

James was married to an Australian national named Sonia. He had no children and died in 1997.[1]

Bibliography
  • The Tribal Hangover (1995)
  • One Mad Bid for Freedon (1990)
  • An Asian Gambit (1985)
  • Dream Time River (1984)
  • Acid Bomb Explosion (1978)
  • The Awakening of Doctor Kirthi and Other Stories (1976)
  • Call of the Kirala (1978)
  • A Quiet Place: A man's quest in a village by the jungle (1968)
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References
  1. Fernando, Nihal (2003). "James Goonewardene (1921-1997)". In Jaina C. Sanga (ed.). South Asian novelists in English: an A-to-Z guide. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 88–94. ISBN 0-313-31885-9.
  2. Salgado, Minoli (2007). "James Goonewardene, Allegorical Islands". Writing Sri Lanka: literature, resistance and the politics of place. Routledge research in postcolonial literatures. 15. Taylor & Francis. p. 41. ISBN 0-415-36418-3.
  3. Seneviratne, Maureen (March 2, 2008). "He said, 'English will come back, it has to': Remembering a "great" among English novelists in Sri Lanka". The Sunday Times Online. 42 (40). Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  4. Wijesinghe, Rajiva (December 22, 2006). "Coming to terms with Punyakanthe". Daily News Online. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
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