Poets

Somasundrampillai ‘Sopa’ Pathmanathan

Somasundrampillai Pathmanathan
Foto: Goethe-Institut / Natalie Soysa
Somasundrampillai ‘Sopa’ Pathmanathan was born on 15 September 1939 in Jaffa and continues to live there even today. He is a prolific Tamil poet, well-spoken in English and well published from the North. He is known to be an outspoken poet, who has been politically active during the Sri Lankan conflict. He completed his Bachelors from the University of Jaffna and earned a Diploma in General and Applied Linguistics from the UK and Diploma in Education from the University of Jaffna. He has devoted 18 years of his life as an English language teacher and 13 years as an English language lecturer. He was also the Principal of Palaly Teachers’ College for 3 years.

He has authored several books including three volumes of poetry. He is also an acclaimed translator of Tamil literature and many of his translations have appeared in international publications such as Journal of South Asian Literature, Michigan, Penguin New Writing in Sri Lanka, Lutesong and Lament, Canada, Lankan Mosaic, Colombo as well as Mirrored Images, National Book Trust, Delhi. He is a winner of several prizes and awards including the Governor’s Award.

Poems

அப்பிளும் வெள்ளாpயூம் /
APFEL UND VELLARI-GURKE


பாலாய் நிலவூ பொழிகிறது /
GEDANKEN ZUM VOLLMONDTAG


ஊடுபாh;த்தல் /
SEE-THROUGH