Sri Lankan literature

Sri Lankan literature is the literary tradition of Sri Lanka. The largest part of Sri Lankan literature was written in the Sinhala language, but there is a considerable number of works in other languages used in Sri Lanka over the millennia (including Pāli, Tamil, and English). However, the languages used in ancient times were much different from the language used in Sri Lanka now.

Up to the present, short stories are a very important part of Sri Lankan literature; the output of Sinhalese short story writers is greater than that of the Tamil and English writers combined and has elicited a greater measure of critical analysis.

List of writers

Sinhala writers

• Gunadasa Amarasekara
• Chandraratna Bandara
• Sugathapala de Silva
• Siri Gunasinghe
• Eric Illayapparachchi
• P.B Jayasekara
• K. Jayatillake
• Piyasena Kahandagamage
• Sirilal Kodikara
• Munidasa Kumaratunga
• Sunanda Mahendra
• Simon Navagattegama
• Ediriweera Sarachchandra
• Mahagama Sekara
• G. B. Senanayake
• W. A. Silva
• Ajith Thilakasena
• Anula Wijayarathna Manike
• Sybil Wettasinghe
• Martin Wickramasinghe
• Su Hae Ja Sugunasiri

Sinhala poets

• Gurulugomi
• Thotagamuwe Sri Rahula Thera
• Kumaratunga Munidasa
• S. Mahinda Thero
• Sagara Palansooriya
• Wimalaratne Kumaragama
• Siri Gunasinghe
• Mahagama Sekara
• Gunadasa Amarasekara
• Parakrama Kodituwakku
• Eric Illayapparachchi
• Sunil Ariyaratne
• Lucien Bulathsinhala
• Saman Tilakasiri
• Rathna Sri Wijesinghe
• Veedagama maithree thero

Essayists and non-fiction writers

• Martin Wickramasinghe
• Ediriweera Sarachchandra
• Gunadasa Amarasekara
• Nalin de Silva
• Piyaseeli Wijegunasinghe
• Shelton Payagala
• Sucharitha Gamlath
• J B Disanayake
• Su Hae Ja Sugunasiri

Sinhala playwrights

• John de Silva
• Ediriweera Sarachchandra
• Sugathapala de Silva
• Sunanda Mahendra
• Simon Navagattegama
• Dayananda Gunawardena
• Henry Jayasena
• Dhamma Jagoda
• Namel Weeramuni

Sinhala radio play writers

• Sugathapala de Silva
• Malaka Dewapriya
• Dayananda Gunawardena
• Tilak Jayaratne
• Sirilal Kodikara
• Sunanda Mahendra
• Dharma Sri Munasinghe
• Simon Navagattegama
• Dharmasena Pathiraja
• Jayalal Rohana

Sri Lankan Tamil authors

• Eelattu Poothanthevanar
• Maravanpulo Sellam Ambalavanar

Sri Lankan Tamil poets

• Neelaavanan

Sri Lankan and Sri Lankan diaspora authors who write in English

• Michael Ondaatje
• Christopher Ondaatje
• Nira Wickramasinghe
• Jayadeva Uyangoda
• Romesh Gunesekera
• Shyam Selvadurai
• SJ Sindu
• Nayomi Munaweera
• Sunil Yapa
• Tissa Abeysekara
• Regi Siriwardena
• Jean Arasanayagam
• Lishan Perera
• Rajiva Wijesinha
• Nihal De Silva
• V.V. Ganeshananthan
• Ru Freeman
• David Blacker
• Punyakante Wijenaike
• Roshi Fernando
• Suwanda Sugunasiri
• Jessie Alice Goonetileke

See also

• Sri Lankan culture
• Henry Parker, British engineer who studied and compiled the oral literature of Sri Lanka

External links

• [1]
• WebCite query result
• All Authors Listed by Country: The South Asian Literary Recordings Project (Library of Congress New Delhi Office)
• Northeastern Herald
• Books on Sinhala Literature | Sinala Books | Sri Lanka books – LankaHands.com
• Gertrude De Livera -
• BOONDI.LK – Sri Lankan Site for Literature, Arts and Politics -
• A list of recommended Sri Lankan literature
• Heart Chakra