Asoka Weerasinghe


Asoka Weerasinghe, born in Sri Lanka, was a former deputy High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Canada.

Early life

Asoka was educated at Nalanda College Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Poetry

He is an award winning poet and his poetry has been published in many literary magazines in the United Kingdom, Canada, India, Germany and many countries. Few of the many poetry awards he won are Welsh University Eisteddfod Poetry Award, Sri Lanka State Literary Award, Manifold Award and City of Ottawa's Appreciation Award for Arts and Culture in 2003. His poem "Trail of Mankind" was adopted as the storyline for Canada's National Museum of Man's Orientation Hall in Ottawa 1972. Books written by him were shortlisted for the Archibald Lampman and Lampman-Scott Award as well.
By profession he is a Geologist, Paleontology and Museology and also one time Curator of the Ottawa Museum in Canada.