Ismene Shakuntal Debi Krishnadath (born 25 January 1956) is a

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

se writer.

Biography

Krishnadath was born in

Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's p ...

, Suriname, and, as a child, lived both there and in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. She studied education at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

. In 1975, when Suriname became independent, Krishnadath became the first person to apply for citizenship, and received one of the first passports; 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. Krishnadath also writes for adults. She received the inaugural State Prize for Children's Literature in 1993. In 2011 she was awarded the

Henri Frans de Ziel Henri Frans de Ziel (15 January 1916 – 3 February 1975), working under the pen name of Trefossa, was a neoromantic writer in Dutch and Sranan Tongo from Suriname. He is best known for the Sranan Tongo stanzas of Suriname's National Anthem. Bio ...

Culture Prize for her commitment to literary life in Suriname. For ten years, she chaired the Surinamese writers group Schrijversgroep '77.

Works

For children

* ''De flaporen van Amar'' (1989) * ''Nieuwe streken van koniman Anansi'' (1989) * ''Lees mee'' (1989-91; in 4 parts) * ''Bruine bonen met zoutvlees'' (1992) * ''Het zoo-syndroom: een Anansiverhaal'' (1992) * ''De vangst van Pake Djasidin'' (1992) * ''Veren voor de piai'' (1992) * ''Reken mee'' (1993) * ''Seriba in de schelp'' (1996) * ''De groene fles'' (1997) * ''B'Anansi keert terug naar de eenentachtigste afslag'' (1997) * ''De opdracht van Fodewroko'' (2001) * ''De legende van Çakuntela van het Groene Continent'' (2004) * ''Kook mee'' (2006; cookbook)

For adults

* ''Didaktische werkvormen voor het voortgezet onderwijs'' (1987; with D. Angel & M. v. Leeuwaarde) * ''Paulo Freire; een bijdrage voor de Surinaamse onderwijsleerkrachten'' (1988; with D. Angel) * ''Lijnen van liefde'' (1990; novel) * ''Handleiding voor het onderwijzen'' (1990; with D. Angel) * ''Vrouwenbundel'' (1993; anthology, editor) * ''Satyem'' (1995, novel) *''Indo-ethnic roots and...

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

Reflections on the non-ethnic orientation of Surinamese writers and their contribution in defining the concept of Caribbean identity'' (2008, essay) She also contributed to the English anthology of Surinamese literature ''Diversity is Power'' (2007).

References

External links