A.K. Ramanujan

Attipat Krishnaswami (A.K.) Ramanujan (1929–1993) was an Indian poet, translator, linguist, and scholar who wrote in both English and Kannada. Born in Mysore, he earned degrees from the University of Mysore before receiving his Ph.D. in linguistics from Indiana University. For much of his career, he was a professor at the University of Chicago, where he was instrumental in shaping the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. His work bridged Indian and Western literary traditions. He is celebrated for his translations of classical Tamil and Kannada poetry, including 'The Interior Landscape', 'Hymns for the Drowning', and 'Poems of Love and War'. His 'Collected Poems', published posthumously, received the Sahitya Akademi Award. He was also honored with the Padma Shri by the Government of India and received a MacArthur Fellowship.