Eva Ranaweera ( Sinhala: ඊවා රණවීර; 1924 – 9 February 2010) was feminist writer, poet and journalist who wrote in both English and Sinhala. She was the first editor of the magazine Vanitha Viththi.
Ranaweera was born to a privileged Sri Lankan family and grew up speaking only English. [1] Her family had worked for the British colonial administration in what was then Ceylon. [2] She attended Holy Cross College, Gampaha. [1] She studied English, History and Sinhala at the University of Colombo from 1949 to 1953. [1] She later wrote in both English and Sinhala, and published books and articles in both languages. [3]
After university she joined the Sinhala-language newspaper Lankadeepa, despite the fact she was just beginning to learn the language. [2] Her first assignments were to translate articles from English to Sinhala. [2] After four years at the newspaper, she resigned and began work at the University of Colombo as a translator. [2] However she resigned shortly afterwards and began to travel around the world, visiting Switzerland, Russia, China, India and Vietnam, as well as working in Egypt. [2] She returned to Sr Lanka and became the first editor of the popular women's magazine Vanitha Viththi. [3] A feminist, Ranaweera used her writing and her activism to broaden the horizons of women, particularly those in rural areas. [4] She published five volumes of poetry in English, which included her first publication. [1]
Ranaweera died on 9 February 2010. [3] At the time of her death she was editing the journal Voices of Women, which was published by the feminist organisation Kantha Handa. [4] Her funeral took place on 11 February 2010 at Kanatte Cemetery in Borella. [1]
Described as "a bilingual writer par excellence", Ranaweera was also praised for her depictions of rural working class voices in the novels Laisa and Sedona. [1] She is recognised for her use of stream-of-consciousness in both novels. [2] This has led to comparisons with James Joyce and Siri Gunasinghe. [2] According to S.B. Anuruddhika Kumari Kularathna, her novels can be "located in the context of Subaltern Studies, Post colonialism and Feminism". [5] Her poetry was described by L W Conolly as both "strong and emotive" and "occasionally humdrum". [6] Her novel Sedona was adapted into an award-winning television in Sri Lanka. [7]
Ranaweera was noted as one of a small number of Anglophone writers, who chose to stay in Sri Lanka after its civil war, rather than flee to the West. [8]
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Eva Ranaweera ( Sinhala: ඊවා රණවීර; 1924 – 9 February 2010) was feminist writer, poet and journalist who wrote in both English and Sinhala. She was the first editor of the magazine Vanitha Viththi.
Ranaweera was born to a privileged Sri Lankan family and grew up speaking only English. [1] Her family had worked for the British colonial administration in what was then Ceylon. [2] She attended Holy Cross College, Gampaha. [1] She studied English, History and Sinhala at the University of Colombo from 1949 to 1953. [1] She later wrote in both English and Sinhala, and published books and articles in both languages. [3]
After university she joined the Sinhala-language newspaper Lankadeepa, despite the fact she was just beginning to learn the language. [2] Her first assignments were to translate articles from English to Sinhala. [2] After four years at the newspaper, she resigned and began work at the University of Colombo as a translator. [2] However she resigned shortly afterwards and began to travel around the world, visiting Switzerland, Russia, China, India and Vietnam, as well as working in Egypt. [2] She returned to Sr Lanka and became the first editor of the popular women's magazine Vanitha Viththi. [3] A feminist, Ranaweera used her writing and her activism to broaden the horizons of women, particularly those in rural areas. [4] She published five volumes of poetry in English, which included her first publication. [1]
Ranaweera died on 9 February 2010. [3] At the time of her death she was editing the journal Voices of Women, which was published by the feminist organisation Kantha Handa. [4] Her funeral took place on 11 February 2010 at Kanatte Cemetery in Borella. [1]
Described as "a bilingual writer par excellence", Ranaweera was also praised for her depictions of rural working class voices in the novels Laisa and Sedona. [1] She is recognised for her use of stream-of-consciousness in both novels. [2] This has led to comparisons with James Joyce and Siri Gunasinghe. [2] According to S.B. Anuruddhika Kumari Kularathna, her novels can be "located in the context of Subaltern Studies, Post colonialism and Feminism". [5] Her poetry was described by L W Conolly as both "strong and emotive" and "occasionally humdrum". [6] Her novel Sedona was adapted into an award-winning television in Sri Lanka. [7]
Ranaweera was noted as one of a small number of Anglophone writers, who chose to stay in Sri Lanka after its civil war, rather than flee to the West. [8]
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