Dominic Jeeva


Dominic Jeeva டொமினிக் ஜீவா; June 27, 1927) is a Sri Lankan Tamil author. He is a member of the Dalit caste. Jeeva was for a period of time forgotten as a writer. He first became known to non-Tamil speaking readers after a review of his short story collection Pathukai.

Early life

His career began as a beautician in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. At that time, he was fascinated by Mahatma Gandhi, and the policies of Indian Congress Party. During this period he became acquainted with Tampo Rajagopal, who inspired him to read books, taught him to write and introduced him to other writers such as S. Ponnumdurai. Later, Jeeva leaned towards leftist political movements and spoke in trade union meetings. He wrote his first story while working at the beauty parlour. He stated that the “beauty parlour is his university” and often praised Rajagopal as his mentor.

Career

Though without an academic background, Jeeva became one of the most prominent writers in the Tamil world. He was the editor for Mallikai, a monthly journal on literature for more than four decades called. Mallikai has been described as an important forum for the publication of progressive writing. The term 'progressive writing' was a euphemism for those with Communist leaning in the 1960s and 1970s. In their writings, these progressive writers attacked vehemently the linguistic jingoism of writers belonging to the Dravidian school. Mallikai promoted Moscow-based Communist writers during the Soviet era. In the 1960s Jeeva received a Sri Lanka Sahithya Academy Award.
Jeeva is the author and publisher of many books and short stories. Jeeva established a publishing center called Mallikai Panthal.

Essays


Biography


Other Books


Awards