Thirangie Jayatilake, Asymptote Journal Educational Arm, reporting from Sri Lanka
New Ink is a new forum that was created to engage in discussions regarding Sri Lankan literatur; in addition to panels on literature in Sri Lanka, New Ink pays a special interest to books published within the last year. In its second year, New Ink went online, running from June 4 to 6.
On a panel entitled “My vision for Sri Lankan writing,” three panellists were in attendance: Ameena Hussein, a Gratiaen Prize nominee and a publisher (of Perera-Hussein Publishing House); Mahesh Hapugoda, a professor at the Sabaragamuwa University in Sri Lanka; and Thakshala Tissera, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Tissera began with an open-ended question of what constitutes as Sri Lankan writing—does it refer to a particular dialect? To Sri Lanka as a national identity? To a broader reference to texts that are from Sri Lanka? To texts written by non-Sri Lankans like European historians that are based in Sri Lanka? To novels based in Sri Lanka that have been adapted into Sinhalese cinema? To writers based in Sri Lanka? To writer who write about Sri Lanka from abroad?
Tissera included Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient as an example of a novel that may be hard to define. The book, based in Italy, is the only novel written by a Sri Lankan to win the Booker Prize; with the prize money, Ondaatje established the Gratiaen Prize in 1992. This award is given annually to Sri Lankan writers, and has contributed significantly to Sri Lankan literature.
Tissera and Hapugoda touched on the theme of exoticism related to texts based in Sri Lanka, and that exoticism being used as a selling point to appeal to a global audience. Hussein and Tissera also discussed Sri Lankan writing from a publisher’s point of view; both highlighted that Sri Lanka has very few publishing houses and even few editorial services. As a publisher, Hussein noted that there were writers who were not willing to be edited. Tissera noted that there is an inequality of resources for local writers compared to writers abroad. She stated that writers abroad had access to wider audiences, bigger publishing houses, more prestigious MFA programs, residences, publicity, and exposure.
Hapugoda expressed his delight at students from rural communities showing more interest in writing and become writers over the last few years. However, Hussein also pointed out the lack of interest, funding, and encouragement from the government who has recently decided to cut down the intake of Advanced Level (high school diploma equivalent) humanities to 25%.
Originally appears in https://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2021/06/25/weekly-dispatches-from-the-front-lines-of-world-literature-77/