Suresh Joshi

Suresh Joshi Biography

Suresh Joshi was an eminent writer belonging to Gujarati literature who lived in the 20^th century. He was one of the best authors of Modern Gujarati literature, who authored famous books like   Chhinnapatra (1965), Maranottar (1973) and Chintayami Manasa (1983). He was a recipient of Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak (1971) and also Sahitya Akademi Award (1983) which he refused citing that it contained nothing but more than some stray essays based on European and American criticism, and not his original thinking. He was a successful teacher and was a prominent figure in modernist movement in Gujarati literature. Many of his works belong to literary criticism.

Suresh Hariprasad Joshi was born on 30 May 1921 in Valod, Bardoli, Bombay presidency. He spent his early childhood in Songadh which influenced him a lot. He was only 8 years old when he secretely published a poem in a local magazine. He did his early schooling from Songadh followed Gangadhara, and completed his BA and MA from Elphinstone College in 1945. After studies he started his teaching profession. Initially he worked at D. J. Singh College in Karachi and later joined Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar in 1947. He joined Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara in 1951 and was associated with the educational institution for next three decades till his retirement in 1981.

He was a chief exponent of experimentalist poetry in Gujarati, and he predominantly chose literary criticism as its base.  He didn’t encourage romantic tendencies in literature. In fact he strongly opposed it. He set a new benchmark to modern Gujarati writers, which many followed later. He lived during the period 1921-1986, and passed away due to kidney failure at the age of 65. He is known for leading the modernist movement in Gujarati literature which emerged after 1955.

Published: January 17, 2019

Updated: January 17, 2019