Collection: Lakshmi Holmström

Lakshmi Holmström was an Indian-British writer, literary critic, and translator of Tamil fiction into English. She obtained an undergraduate degree in English Literature from the University of Madras and a postgraduate degree from the University of Oxford. Focusing on Tamil fiction, Holmström translated a variety of classical and contemporary books such as the works by Mauni, Pudhumaipithan, Ashoka Mitran, Sundara Ramasami, C. S. Lakshmi, Bama, and Imayam. In the past, author Amit Chaudhuri named her “the best contemporary anglophone translator India has.”

Her translation of Cheran’s poems In a Time of Burning was the recipient of he 2013 English PEN award. She was also awarded the Crossword Book Award for her translation of Karukku by Bama and the Crossword-Hutch Award for her translation of Ambai’s collection of stories In a Forest, A Deer. Holmström was also the founder-trustee of SALIDAA (South Asian Diaspora Literature and Arts Archive) an organization for archiving the works of British writers and artists of South Asian origin.