Professor Chelvanayakam Kanaganayakam ( ta, செல்வநாயகம் கனகநாயகம்; May 7, 1952 – November 22, 2014) was a
Tamil Canadian
Tamil Canadians, or Canadian Tamils, are Canadians of Tamil ethno-linguistic origin. Much of Canada's Tamil diaspora from India and Sri Lanka then majority consist of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who sought to flee the ethnic tensions during the ...
translator, author and academic.
Early life and family
Kanaganayakam was born on May 7, 1952 in
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
,
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
He was the son of V. Chelvanayakam, head of the Department of Tamil at the
University of Ceylon, Peradeniya
The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univ ...
, and Kamalambikai.
He was educated at
Trinity College, Kandy
"Look to the End"
, mottoes =
, founder = John Ireland Jones
, established =
, type = Independent Private
, affiliation = Church of Ceylon, Anglican
, grade ...
. After school Kanaganayakam joined the
but following
Osmund Jayaratne Vidya Jyothi Osmund Jayaratne (2 October 1924–September 2006) was Sri Lankan academic and politician. He was the President of the Colombo Campus, University of Sri Lanka (now the University of Colombo), Emeritus Professor of Physics. As a left win ...
's "re-organisation" of universities, he and other language and literature students were moved to the university's campus in
Kelaniya
Kelaniya ( si, කැලණිය ta, களனி) is a suburb of Colombo in the Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is known for the Buddhist temple built on the banks of the Kelani River, which divides the suburb from Colombo District. The templ ...
.
He graduated in 1976 with a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in English language and literature.
Kanaganayakam was married to Thirumagal.
They had a daughter (Shankary) and a son (Jegan).
Career
Kanaganayakam was a lecturer in the Department of English at the
University of Jaffna
The University of Jaffna ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், translit=Yāḻppāṇap Palkalaikkaḻakam; si, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්යාලය, ''Yāpanaya Viśvavidyālaya''; ...
before joining the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
on a
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
scholarship, receiving a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
degree in 1985 after producing a
thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
, supervised by
W. H. New
William Herbert New (born March 28, 1938) is a Canadian poet and literary critic. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he was educated at John Oliver Secondary School, where he received one of the top matriculation exam scores in British Columbi ...
, on the writings of
Zulfikar Ghose
Zulfikar Ghose (March 13, 1935 – June 30, 2022) was a Pakistani-American novelist, poet and essayist. His works are primarily magical realism, blending fantasy and harsh realism.
Biography
Born in Sialkot, Punjab, which was in British India be ...
.
Kanaganayakam joined the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
's Department of English in 1989 to research and teach Commonwealth literature.
Appointed a professor in 2002, he went on to become director of the Centre for South Asian Studies at the
Munk School of Global Affairs
The Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto is an interdisciplinary academic centre with various research and educational programs committed to the field of globalization. Located in Toronto, Ontario, it offer ...
and co-ordinator of the independent studies program at
Trinity College, Toronto
Trinity College (occasionally referred to as The University of Trinity College) is a college federated with the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Strachan originally intended Trinity as a university of strong Angli ...
.
Kanaganayakam was a founding member of the
Tamil Literary Garden and the Toronto Tamil Studies Conference.
On the morning of November 22, 2014 Kanaganayakam was inducted to the
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
as a fellow in
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
.
That evening, as he went to a celebratory dinner in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
, he suffered a heart attack and died.
Works
Kanaganayakam wrote, translated and edited several books:
* ''Structures of Negation: The Writings of Zulfikar Ghose'' (1993,
University of Toronto Press
The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911.
The press originally printed only examination books and the university calen ...
)
* ''Configuartions of Exile: South Asian Writers and Their World'' (1995,
TSAR Publications
TSAR Publications is a Toronto-based nonprofit book publisher focusing on multicultural literature, particularly Canadian authors and subject matter.
TSAR Publications began as the literary journal ''The Toronto Review of Contemporary Writing Abro ...
)
* ''Dark Antonyms and Paradise: The Poetry of Rienzi Crusz'' (1997, TSAR Publications)
* ''Lutesong and Lament: Tamil Writing from Sri Lanka'' (2001, TSAR Publications, editor)
* ''Counterrealism and Indo-Anglian Fiction'' (2002,
Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Wilfrid Laurier University Press, based in Waterloo, Ontario, is a publisher of scholarly writing and is part of Wilfrid Laurier University. The fourth-largest university press in Canada, WLUP publishes work in a variety of disciplines in the hum ...
)
* ''Moveable Margins: The Shifting Spaces of Canadian Literature'' (2005, TSAR Publications, editor)
* ''History and Imagination: Tamil Culture in the Global Context'' (2007, co-editors R. Cheran & Darshan Ambalavanar)
* ''New Demarcations: Essays in Tamil Studies'' (2009, Brown Bear Press, co-editors R. Cheran & Darshan Ambalavanar)
* ''Wilting Laughter: Three Tamil Poets'' (2009, translator)
* ''Nedunalvaadai'' (2010)
* ''You Cannot Turn Away'' (2010, translator)
* ''Ritual'' (2011, translator)
* ''World Without Walls: Being Human, Being Tamil'' (2011, co-editor)
* ''
In Our Translated World: Contemporary Global Tamil Poetry'' (2013, TSAR Publications, editor)
* ''A History of South Asian Writing in English'' (2014,
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
)
* ''Uprooting the Pumpkin: Selections from Sri Lankan Tamil Literature, 1950-2012'' (2016,
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, editor)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanaganayakam, Chelva
1952 births
2014 deaths
Academics of the University of Jaffna
Academics of the University of Sri Lanka (Jaffna)
Alumni of Trinity College, Kandy
Alumni of the University of Sri Lanka (Peradeniya)
Canadian people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Sri Lankan Tamil academics
Sri Lankan Tamil writers
University of British Columbia alumni
University of Toronto faculty