Yasmine Gooneratne

Yasmine Gooneratne
Born1935 (1935)
Colombo, British Ceylon
Died (aged 88)[1]
OccupationUniversity professor, literary critic, editor, poet, essayist, short story writer, novelist and educator
NationalitySri Lankan

Yasmine Gooneratne (1935 – 15 February 2024) was a Sri Lankan poet, short story writer, university professor and essayist. She was recognised in Sri Lanka, Australia, throughout Europe, and the United States, due to her substantial creative and critical publications in the field of English and post-colonial literature. After 35 years in Australia, she returned to live in Sri Lanka.[2][3][4][5][6]

Gooneratne was educated at the University of Ceylon and Cambridge University. She held a personal chair in English as a Professor at Macquarie University in Sydney, and held an Emeritus position after her retirement.[7][8]

Gooneratne was awarded Australia’s highest national honour, the Order of Australia, in 1990, for her services to Education and Literature.

Gooneratne was also awarded the Raja Rao Award in 2001, for ‘Outstanding Contribution To The Literature and Culture Of The South Asian Diaspora.’ This award was presented by the Samvad India Foundation and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Gooneratne was also honoured with Sri Lanka’s Sahithyarathna Award for a lifetime achievement in Literature at The State Literary Festival in 2008. This award is described as ‘The Highest Honour bestowed by the State of Sri Lanka’, and was conferred on Gooneratne ‘For Her Immense Contribution To The Field Of English Literature.’

Gooneratne was invited to be a patron of Sri Lanka’s literary festival, The Galle Literary Festival – also known as ‘The Fairway Galle කැල්ලපත Literary Festival’ – at its inception, in 2005.[9][10]

  1. ^ Brendon, Devika (18 February 2024). "'And gladly would she learn, and gladly teach'". The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Gooneratne, Yasmine – Postcolonial Studies". scholarblogs.emory.edu. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Yasmine Gooneratne". www.litencyc.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  4. ^ Bramston, Dorothy J. (1994). A Literary Biography of Yasmine Gooneratne as a Cross-cultural Writer in Australia. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2024. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ^ "Yasmine Gooneratne Books – Biography and List of Works – Author of 'Relative Merits'". www.biblio.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Cooking, not writing was her first love". www.sundaytimes.lk. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Papers of Yasmine Gooneratne". www.nla.gov.au. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  8. ^ Austlit. "Yasmine Gooneratne: (author/organisation) | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". www.austlit.edu.au. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Galle gets ready once again for literary showcase". www.sundaytimes.lk. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Politics of Galle Literary Festival". archives.dailynews.lk. Archived from the original on 19 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.