Renowned Writer Rong Wongsawan Passes Away

[sabaijai]

Renowned writer Rong Wongsawan passes away

Published: 16/03/2009 at 12:00 AM

Renowned writer Rong Wongsawan died yesterday in an intensive care unit in Chiang Mai at the age of 77.

Rong: Succumbs to brain haemorrhage

Theppanya Hospital, where the 1995 Thai National Artist in Literature whose real name was Narong Wongsawan was receiving treatment, said Rong had suffered from chronic kidney disease and died of a brain haemorrhage.

The writer, who was based in Chiang Mai, had been admitted to intensive care on Friday. While there he suffered three heart attacks.

The native of central Chai Nat province began his primary education in Ratchaburi and finished junior high school at Amnuay Silp School in Bangkok.

He also studied at Triam Udom Suksa School in Bangkok but was expelled, despite having a good academic record, after a dispute with a teacher.

Rong was a helmsman on a ship, log yard supervisor, actor, model, bookworm, columnist, documentary writer, screenwriter, and short story and novel writer.

The Writers Association of Thailand declared him an outstanding short story writer in 1985 and a decade later the National Culture Commission made him a national artist in literature.

As a wordsmith he was without peer and revelled in using old-fashioned words to convey modern messages. He is survived by his wife Sumalee Trakarnthai and their two sons.

Bangkok Post