Renowned short-story writer Kethu Vishwanath Reddy, who popularised the Rayalaseema dialect in his works, passed away in Ongole on Monday.
Viswanatha Reddy, (July 10, 1939 —May 22, 2023) was a short story writer, novelist and essayist who won the Sahitya Akademi Award in Telugu in 1996 for his anthology of short stories ‘Kethu Viswanatha Reddy Kathalu.’
He was a writer whose works reflected the rural transformation in southern Andhra Pradesh, including its famines, factions and industrialisation. Japthu and Ichhagni are among his best-known collections of short stories.
His novels are ‘Verlu’ and ‘Bodhi,’ and his essays were published in ‘Dristi’ and ‘Deepadaarulu.’
His six books ‘Kethu Viswanatha Reddy Kathalu,’ ‘Kethu Viswanatha Reddy Kathalu 2,’ ‘Parichayam,’ ‘Patrikeyam,’ ‘Sangamam’ and ‘Mana Kodavatiganti’ were released on the occasion of his winning the AVKF lifetime achievement award in January 2009.
He had also edited the collections of Kodavatiganti Kutumba Rao and his writings.
