Ismene Krishnadath | |
|---|---|
 Krishnadath (right) with Trinidadian critic Kenneth Ramchand at the Schrijverschap 2000 congress in Paramaribo, July 1997 | |
| Born | 25 January 1956 |
| Alma mater | Utrecht University |
| Occupation(s) | Writer and publisher |
Ismene Shakuntal Debi Krishnadath (born 25 January 1956) is a Surinamese writer.
Krishnadath was born in Paramaribo, Suriname, and, as a child, lived both there and in Utrecht, Netherlands. She studied education at Utrecht University. In 1975, when Suriname became independent, Krishnadath became the first person to apply for citizenship, and received one of the first passports; [1] in 1979, she returned to live in Suriname. For ten years she worked as a pedagogy teacher at various teacher training courses and, from 1990, as an education consultant. She was part of the progressive education movement Kenki Skoro and wrote a teaching manual with Dayenne Angel.
In 1989, Krishnadath started a publishing house and agency, Publishing Services Suriname, and a publisher for books for small children: Lees mee (Read Along). She became a prolific author of children's and youth books, many of which were illustrated by Gerold Slijngard. [2] Krishnadath also writes for adults.
She received the inaugural State Prize for Children's Literature in 1993. [3] In 2011 she was awarded the Henri Frans de Ziel Culture Prize for her commitment to literary life in Suriname. [1]
For ten years, she chaired the Surinamese writers group Schrijversgroep '77. [4]
She also contributed to the English anthology of Surinamese literature Diversity is Power (2007).
"God zij met ons Suriname", or "Opo kondreman", is the national anthem of Suriname. It has two verses: the first in Dutch and the second in Sranan Tongo.
Sranan Tongo is an English-based creole language that is spoken as a lingua franca by approximately 550,000 people in Suriname.
Cornelis Gerhard Anton de Kom was a Surinamese resistance fighter and anti-colonialist author. He was arrested in Suriname and the protest against his arrest resulted in two deaths. De Kom was subsequently exiled to the Netherlands where he wrote Wij slaven van Suriname, an anti-colonial book. During World War II, he joined the resistance, was arrested, and sent to concentration camps where he died. In 2020, de Kom was added as a subject on the Canon of the Netherlands, a chronological list of fifty key events and people in Dutch history to be taught in schools.
Lodewijk 'Lou' Lichtveld was a Surinamese politician, playwright, poet and resistance fighter who wrote under the pseudonym "Albert Helman".
Michaël Henricus Gertrudis (Michiel) van Kempen is a Dutch writer, art historian and literary critic. He has written novels, short stories, essays, travel literature and scenarios. He was the compiler of a huge range of anthologies of Dutch-Caribbean literature and wrote an extensive history of the literature of Suriname, in two volumes.
Jules Sedney was a Surinamese politician, and Prime Minister of Suriname from 20 November 1969 to 24 December 1973. In 1980, he became governor of the Central Bank of Suriname, but had to flee the country in 1983 after a dispute with Dési Bouterse. Sedney returned to Suriname in 1989.
Theodora Hermina van der Meiden-Coolsma was a Dutch columnist and the author of children's fiction. She wrote 25 children's books. Seven of these were written together with Coos Covens. Two others were written under the pen name Constance Hazelager.
Astrid Heligonda Roemer is a Surinamese-Dutch writer and teacher. The Dutch-language author has published novels, drama and poetry, and in December 2015 was announced as the winner of the P. C. Hooft Award, considered the most important literary prize in the Netherlands and Belgium, which was presented in May 2016.
Beatrice Sylvia Vianen was a Surinamese writer and poet who went by the name Bea Vianen. Bea Vianen was the first Surinamese woman who had a book published by a Dutch publishing house (Querido).
Hugo Pos was a Surinamese judge, writer, and poet.
Amar N. Ramadhin is a Surinamese physician and as of 2020 Minister of Public Health.
Ida Does is a Surinamese-born, Dutch journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. After working at Omroep West as a reporter, editor-in-chief, and program director, she began making independent films, mainly focused on art, culture, colonialism, and social justice. Her documentaries have won awards in Canada, the Netherlands, and Trinidad and Tobago.
David George Findlay was a Surinamese politician, editor, and writer. He was the owner and chief editor of the newspaper De West.
Marylin Simons is a Surinamese writer and columnist. She is best known for In naam van God en Obia (2002) for which she was awarded the Kwaku Literature Prize, and her youth book Carrousel (2003).
Leonardus Josephus "Jozef" Weidmann was a Dutch-Surinamese Catholic priest, politician and union leader. He is one of the founders of the Progressive Surinamese People's Party (PSV). Weidmann played a leading role in establishing universal suffrage in Suriname, and was the founder of Progressive Workers Organisation, the oldest recognised trade union in Suriname.
Lilawatie Hélène Ramjiawan was a Surinamese children's book author. She became known in the 1990s with her short stories for young readers about the girl "Poek".
Saya Yasmine Amores was a Surinamese-Dutch poet, writer, and painter. She wrote under the pen name Cándani from 1982 to 2007. She then used the name Saya Yasmine Amores, which she legally adopted in 2013.
Christiaan Hendrik "Hein" Eersel was a Surinamese linguist and cultural researcher.
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