Dr Rudhramoorthy Cheran
Dr. Rudhramoorthy Cheran, is one of the best known and widely influential of Tamil poets. He has graduated from Jaffna University with a degree in Biological Sciences.
Born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, he grew up following the Tamil classics and becoming familiar with the works of the younger, ‘left-leaning’ poets from an early age. These were the years when ethnic conflict and civil unrest in Sri Lanka spread alarmingly. The burning of the Jaffna public library during this conflict in 1981 was a major influence on his poetry. In 1984 Dr. Cheran joined the staff of the Saturday Review, an English language weekly that was known for its stand on press freedom, and fundamental rights and justice for minorities. As a poet and a political journalist, he refused to align himself with any of the several Tamil militant organizations.
His inspiration for poetry has been war, freedom to write, landscapes and peace. He is currently working as Professor, Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology at the University of Windsor. He also enjoys watching theater.
Dr. Cheran’s early poems, 1975-2000 were collected under the title ‘Nii Ippozhudhu Irangum Aaru’ (The River into Which You Now Descend) (Nagercoil: Kalcchuvadu, 2000). This was followed by ‘Miindum Kadalukku’ (Once Again the Sea) (Nagercoil: Kalachuvadu, 2004) and ‘Kaadaatru’ (Forest-Healing) (Nagercoil: Kalachuvadu, 2011). In addition to these books, he co-edited, along with three others, a landmark anthology of Tamil political poetry, ‘Maranatthul Vaazhvoom’ (We Will Live Amidst Death) (Coimbatore: Vidiyal, 1985).
His poems have been translated into English, Swedish, Sinhala, Bangla, Kannada, Telugu, Dutch, Arabic and Malayalam. His poems in English translations are: The Second Sunrise ( Navayana 2011), In a Time of Burning ( Arc, UK, 2013), You cannot Turn Away (Mawenzi, Toronto,2014).
He has received various awards: ONV award, ONV Foundation Dubai 2017 for best collection of poetry, Tamil Literary Garden, Canada 2006.
