Draft:Saumya Sandaruwan Liyanage

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Saumya Sandaruwan Liyanage
Born (1985-04-15) April 15, 1985
Colombo, Sri Lanka
OccupationPoet and author
NationalitySri Lankan
EducationPrince of Wales College, Moratuwa
Notable worksHate Watte Magdalena
Numba No Ea Nam Kiyanna

Saumya Sandaruwan Liyanage (born April 15, 1985) is a Sri Lankan poet and author. He embarked on his creative journey in 2013 with the release of his poetry collection, Hate Watte Magdalena, which won the State Literary Award for Best Poetry Collection in 2014.[1][2][3]

Early life and education

Born on April 15, 1985, in Colombo, Liyanage received his primary and secondary education at Prince of Wales College in Moratuwa. He further honed his creative and technical disciplines in cinema and television through formal professional training at the Sri Lanka Television Training Institute (SLTTI) and the National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka.

Career

Throughout his career, Liyanage has held specialized roles in print and broadcast media, working as a newspaper layout designer, non-linear video editor, and television program producer. He currently dedicates himself full-time to his literary career as a freelance author. Alongside his writing pursuits, Liyanage is also an established book designer, contributing visual concepts and cover art to numerous Sri Lankan publications.[4][5][6][7][8]

In addition to his published books, Liyanage has published articles on poetry, cinema, literature, and socio-political topics across major national newspapers, magazines, and digital media in Sri Lanka.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

From 2 to 5 July 2015, Liyanage represented Sri Lanka as a member of the official Sri Lankan literary delegation at the SAARC Literary Festival on South Asian Poetry, titled "Reflections of a Cultural Confluence," held in Bangalore, India.[16]

Literary works

Poetry

  • Hate Watte Magdalena (2013) – Liyanage's inaugural collection delves into the stark existential realities of marginalized communities residing in urban slums.[17][18][19] The work gained widespread critical acclaim for its empathetic dissection of socio-economic disparity and resilience,[20][21][22][23][24] ultimately winning the State Literary Award for Best Poetry Collection in 2014.[1][2][3] The collection's first eight printings were issued as an author publication (ISBN 978-955-44736-0-7), and its 9th printing was published by Sahurda Publishers (ISBN 978-624-5921-04-1).[25]
  • Numba No Ea Nam Kiyanna (2016) – Marking a thematic shift from his debut, this collection explores the introspective dimensions of romantic love, human intimacy, and emotional vulnerability.[26][27][28][29][30] Several poems from the collection were subsequently adapted into musical compositions, most notably the track "Boho Pem Kavi Liyu Pasuwada," performed by Vidula Ravishara.[31][32] Published by Sahurda Publishers. (ISBN 978-955-4050-04-4)
  • Ithin Kaviyani Hondata Ninda Yanawada Reta (2023) – A mature synthesis of personal nostalgia, heartbreak, and socio-political commentary. The collection captures the collective psyche of Sri Lankan society during the global COVID-19 pandemic and citizen protests.[33] Published by Sahurda Publishers. (ISBN 978-624-5921-03-4)

Novels

  • Lotus (2019) – Liyanage's debut work of fiction examines systemic corruption and institutional decay driven by political hegemony in Sri Lanka.[34][35][36] The narrative weaves together the lives of a cinema actress caught in a political crossfire, an uncompromising journalist, and state bureaucrats.[37][38] First published by Sahurda Publishers (ISBN 978-955-4050-08-2), a second printing was issued by Muses Publishing House (ISBN 978-624-6570-57-6).

Column Collections

  • Lifeline - Doopathe Jeewithe (2024) – A curated anthology of socio-political columns originally published in the Lanka Irida Sangrahaya weekly newspaper between 2017 and 2018. The book examines the daily struggles of the general Sri Lankan public.[39][40] In 2025, the work achieved notable critical recognition when it was shortlisted for the Vidyodaya Literary Awards.[41] Published by Muses Publishing House. (ISBN 978-624-5579-87-7)




References

  1. "More than 30 writers honoured". The Sunday Times. 14 September 2014.
  2. "State Literary Awards 2014 - Official Results" (PDF). Arts Council of Sri Lanka. 2014.
  3. "රාජ්‍ය සාහිත්‍ය සම්මාන ප්‍රදානෝත්සවය සමරු කලාපය 2014" [State Literary Awards Commemorative Volume 2014] (PDF) (in Sinhala). Department of Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka. 2014.
  4. Shenal Rajakarunanayake (26 April 2017). "Saumya Sandaruwan Liyanage: The Cinematic Poet of Our Time". Ceylon Today.
  5. Kavi 10ta Gee Dahayak: සෞම්‍ය සඳරුවන් [Ten Songs for Ten Poems: Saumya Sandaruwan] (in Sinhala). Charana TV – via YouTube.
  6. තරුණ කවියෙකු සමග කවි ගැන කතා කරමු [Let's Talk About Poetry with a Young Poet] (in Sinhala). Tharunaya Online – via YouTube.
  7. Ranjith Kumara Samarakoon (11 September 2014). "අද විචාරයේදී සිදුවන්නේ සපත්තුවට කකුලක් සොයා යාමයි" [Today's criticism is about finding a foot for the shoe]. Lakbima (in Sinhala).
  8. Rasika Hemamali (29 November 2015). "කවිය මිනිස්සු අතරට ආයෙමත් ඇවිත්" [Poetry has returned to the people]. Lanka Irida Sangrahaya (in Sinhala).
  9. Saumya Sandaruwan Liyanage (5 June 2016). "දිව්‍යමය අපායක ජීවිතය අවතැන් වීම: City of God - 2002" [Displacement of life in a divine hell: City of God - 2002]. Lanka Irida Sangrahaya (in Sinhala).
  10. Saumya Sandaruwan Liyanage (19 June 2018). "විප්ලවීය කන්‍යාභාවය විනිවිදින 'මං කෙලින් මිනිහෙක්'" [Piercing revolutionary virginity: 'Man Kelin Minihek']. Resa (in Sinhala).
  11. Sandunika Ratnayake (16 October 2016). "මට ඕනෑ මා නිදහස් කරගන්නයි" [I want to liberate myself]. Ravaya (in Sinhala).
  12. Wimal Katipearachchi (4 September 2016). "කිසිදෙයක් ඉබේ වෙනස් වෙන්නෙ නෑ..!" [Nothing changes automatically..!]. Sihinaya. Sathhanda (in Sinhala).
  13. Pathum Indika Wewagama (27 December 2015). "වරදාන ඉව කරකර සමහරු කලාව ගනිකාවක් කරගත්තා" [Sniffing for privileges, some turned art into a prostitute]. Deshaya (in Sinhala).
  14. සූර්යෝදය: "නොමියෙන සේකර" [Suryodaya: "Immortal Sekara"] (in Sinhala). iTV Sri Lanka – via YouTube.
  15. ගීත මාවත: හේම ශ්‍රී ද අල්විස් ගී සයුර [Geetha Mawatha: The Ocean of Songs by Hema Sri de Alwis] (in Sinhala). City FM – via YouTube.
  16. "SAARC Literary Festival on South Asian Poetry: Reflections of a Cultural Confluence" (PDF). SAARC Cultural Centre. 2015. pp. 12–15.
  17. Buddhadasa Galappatty (9 January 2014). "මේ මෙතැන, මල් පඳුර පැළවුණු තැන" [Right here, where the flower bush sprouted]. Kavi Mihira. Divaina (in Sinhala).
  18. Piyankarage Bandula Jayaweera (16 March 2014). "ඉතිං අපි බඳිනවා" [So We Get Married]. Sahurda Spandana. Janarala (in Sinhala).
  19. Between Pages: මම කවි ලියලා කළේ වරදක් [Between Pages: Did I commit a wrong by writing poetry?] (in Sinhala). Xposure News Media – via YouTube.
  20. Mahendra, Sunanda (22 October 2014). "Poetic Surrealism". Focus on Books. Daily News.
  21. Thilakarathna, Kusumanjalee (15 October 2014). "Shorter sweeter cyber-verse". Notebook of an achiever. The Nation.
  22. Abeykoon, Gamini (11 January 2015). "Engaging with and dissecting truth". Line Poetry. The Nation.
  23. Buddhadasa Galappatty (20 November 2014). "අසම්මත පෙම්කව" [The Unconventional Love Poem]. Kavi Mihira. Divaina (in Sinhala).
  24. දැන් කවි වලට ඉඩක් නැද්ද? [Is there no space for poetry now?] (in Sinhala). Lakviru Radio Daily – via YouTube.
  25. "කවිපොතක් විකුණගන්න පොත් කඩේට ගියාම වහකන්නයි හිතෙන්නෙ" [Going to a bookstore to sell a poetry book makes you want to take poison] (Interview) (in Sinhala). Interviewed by Madhuranga C. Nuwanpriya. 28 September 2014.
  26. Chulananda Samaranayake (2 October 2016). "අවපීඩිත දිවියෙහි පිළිබිඹුව: නුඹ නොඒ නම් කියන්න" [Reflection of an Oppressed Life: Numba Noe Nam Kiyanna]. Irudina (in Sinhala).
  27. Ranjith Kumara Samarakoon (1 September 2016). "හුස්ම හිරවෙවී දුවන පරපුරක් කවි ලිවීම ම අරුමයක්" [It is a wonder that a suffocating generation writes poetry]. Lakbima (in Sinhala).
  28. Book Mark: නුඹ නොඒ නම් කියන්න [Book Mark: Numba Noe Nam Kiyanna] (in Sinhala). Jathika Rupavahini – via YouTube.
  29. Buddhadasa Galappatty (29 September 2016). "ඉන්දරේ සහ මාලිනී" [Indare and Malini]. Kavi Mihira. Divaina (in Sinhala).
  30. Ravindra Pushpakumara (4 September 2016). "කවියෙන් දෝරගලන මානව ප්‍රේමය කවියා ළඟ තියෙනවද?" [Does the poet possess the overflowing human love found in poetry?]. Irudina (in Sinhala).
  31. Knowledge 1st: Vidula Ravishara & Saumya Sandaruwan (in Sinhala). Jathika Rupavahini – via YouTube.
  32. Saumya Sandaruwan Liyanage - Program 371 (in Sinhala). Saman4You – via YouTube.
  33. GOOD MORNING SRI LANKA: "ඉතින් කවියනි හොඳට නින්ද යනවද රෑට" (in Sinhala). Siyatha TV – via YouTube.
  34. Dulaj M. Devapura (24 September 2019). "සෞම්‍ය එක්ක ලෝටස් ගැන කතාබහක්". Resa (in Sinhala).
  35. Kusumsiri Wijayawardana (20 October 2019). "අපි දේශපාලනේට පාවිච්චි වෙන පිරිසක්" [We are a group used for politics]. Deshaya (in Sinhala).
  36. පොතයි හිතයි: විචාර ප්‍රතිචාර - "ලෝටස්" (in Sinhala). Charana TV – via YouTube.
  37. Lanka Marasinghe (8 September 2019). "'ලෝටස්' සිනමාත්මක සංස්කරණය ලේඛනයෙන් අත්හදා බැලීමක්". Lanka Irida Sangrahaya (in Sinhala).
  38. Ayantha Yunesh Fernando (17 September 2019). "කවුද දන්නෙ ඊළඟට ලීක් වෙන්නෙ කාගෙ වීඩියෝ එකද කියලා?". Mawbima (in Sinhala).
  39. Kasun Samaratunga (2 December 2018). "රටේ දේවල් සිද්ධවෙන විදිය මාර අප්සට්". Aththa (in Sinhala).
  40. GOOD MORNING SRI LANKA: "Life Line" (in Sinhala). Siyatha TV. 26 May 2024 – via YouTube.
  41. "විද්‍යෝදය සාහිත්‍ය සම්මාන 2025 නිර්දේශිත නාමාවලිය" [Vidyodaya Literary Awards 2025 Shortlist]. Divaina (in Sinhala). 7 September 2025.