Kala Keerthi The Kala Keerthi ( si, කලා කීර්ති) is a Sri Lankan Sri Lankan honours system, national honour awarded "''for extraordinary achievements and contributions in arts, culture and drama''". It is the highest national honour for arts, cu ...

Monica Ruwanpathirana ( si, මොනිකා රුවන්පතිරණ) (1946 – 2004) was a

Sri Lanka 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 ...

n poet and writer. She is considered one of the most acclaimed poets in modern Sinhala poetry. She has written 23 books, including nineteen poetry and three of them won the

State Literary Award The State Literary Award is a set of annual literary prizes by the Government of Sri Lanka under several categories. The awards cover fiction, poetry, translations, songs and cover designs. Works from Sinhala, Tamil and English English us ...

. In 2005, she was honored by

Government of Sri Lanka The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය, Śrī Lankā Rajaya; ta, இலங்கை அரசாங்கம்) is a parliamentary system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the is ...

with the reputation of

. Born in a village in Matara, Monica had her education at St. Thomas' Girls' High School,

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

and Sanghamitta Balika Vidyalaya. In 1967, she graduated from the

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

and joined the Plan Implementation Ministry where she worked for eleven years. Later she started working for an

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

as a director. She died at the age of 58.

Publications

Her books of verse include, *''Apa Denna Saha Thawath Kihipa Denek'' (1971) *''Thahanam Deshayakin'' (1972) *''Angulimalage Sihina'' (1974) *''Oba Yeheliya Eya Geheniya'' (1975) *''Athuru Mithuru'' (1981) *''Age Lokaya'' (1985) *''Visi Vasaka Shesha Pathraya'' (1994) *''Asan Paththini Devathavi'' (1999) *''Hippocrates Saha Roginiya'' Short stories *''Kusumalathage Dawasak'' (''A Day in the Life of Kusumalatha'', 1990) Critical essays *''Nava Kavi Vimasuma''

References

External links

Tribute to nation's poet: Monica, my friend
'' Daily News''
ශිෂ්‍යාවකගෙන් හසුනක්‌: මොනිකා රුවන් පතිරණ
(in Sinhala), ''

Divaina Divaina ( si, දිවයින) is a Sinhala language daily newspaper published by the Upali Newspapers in Sri Lanka. A sister newspaper of ''The Island (Sri Lanka), The Island'' , ''Divaina'' was established in 1981. Its Sunday edition is the '' ...

'' Sinhalese writers 1946 births 2004 deaths Sri Lankan women poets 20th-century Sri Lankan writers 20th-century Sri Lankan women writers 21st-century Sri Lankan writers 21st-century Sri Lankan women writers {{SriLanka-bio-stub