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).
