James Goonewardene

Prashani Rambukwella (Independent Scholar - Asia)

Ed. by John Thieme, University of East Anglia
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 10.3.4: Sri Lankan Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Claire Gallien (Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3), Birte Heidemann (Technische Universität Dresden), Pavan Kumar Malreddy (J W Goethe University of Frankfurt), Delphine Munos (Université de Liège)

Dates

Born 1921
Died 1997
Activity 1968-1995

Places

Born in Sri Lanka
Active in Sri Lanka

Activities

Primary

Novelist
Radio Broadcaster / Producer
Story-writer

Resources

Goonewardene's Works

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Born in 1921, James Shedden-Goonewardene was the son of a police inspector serving in the remote town of Pannala (in Sri Lanka's northwestern province). After his birth the family moved to Matara, in the south, where they spent several years before moving again to the residential (predominantly English-speaking) Harmer's Avenue in Wellawatte, Colombo. Goonewardene, a Methodist, was sent to school nearby at St Peter's College, a Catholic school, where he would get very angry when schoolmates called him by his Eurasian moniker “Shedden”. Significantly, after leaving school he dropped the name Shedden – using his Sinhala name “Goonewardene” to identify himself with the numerical majority of the country. In fact, although there seem to be existentialist concerns in Goonewardene's…

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1233 words

Citation: Rambukwella, Prashani. "James Goonewardene". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 May 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1808, accessed 21 November 2024.]