Former Deputy Editor of the Daily News, veteran journalist and author Malini Govinnage passed away on June 21.
Govinnage was widely known as a bilingual translator of Sinhalese and English literary works. Her English medium contributions appeared in various forms such as book reviews in the Daily News.
Be it Sinhala or English, Malini Govinnage’s writing style had a marked simplicity and at times intricacy.
Govinnage’s line of thinking was much moulded by translations. The very first of her lengthy list of translations is Italian novelist Ignazio Silone’s Fontamara.
The translation played a crucial role in the early seventies when the access to world literature was very much limited for the Sri Lankan Sinhala readership.
Veteran literary critic Reggie Siriwardana identified her as an epitome of the Sinhala-medium-educated generation well versed in European literature.
Another instrumental literary contribution by Govinnage reached the Sinhala readership as the translation of Life With Picasso.
Most translations came out with her justification as to why the particular work was chosen for translation.
She also found much success with translations of Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara’s works such as the Motorcycle Diaries. She was also the founder Editor of Buddha Pradeepa, the Daily News Vesak Annual.
The funeral took place at her native village, Dummalasuriya.