As a poet, Patrick Fernando was a path-breaker, one of the most accomplished and polished Sri Lankan poets, the first poet of his country to be published, and in London, too (1955). Under the richness of his poetry lies incisiveness that matches his career as a tax official in the Inland Revenue Department (1952-1979):

He scans the share list, chuckling now and then, And she is knitting socks for charities, Both dreaming of a girl known long ago.

He scans the share list, chuckling now and then, And she is knitting socks for charities, Both dreaming of a girl known long ago.

These are the concluding lines of his poem “Chorus on a Marriage”. They suggest that marriage finally changes into custom and parallel lines of interest and behaviour. This is preceded by the poet

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Citation: Goonetilleke, D. C. Ranjan Alwis. "Patrick Fernando". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 February 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1511, accessed 29 March 2024.]

1511 Patrick Fernando 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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