A bridge across languages

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Bridging Connections, British Council, Cheran, Jean Arasanayagam, Michael Ondaatje, Mirrored Images: An Anthology of Sri Lankan Poetry, National Book Trust, National Book Trust of India, poems, Poetry, Richard de Zoysa, The English Patient, The Graetian Prize, The Hindu

“Mirrored Images” focuses on Sri Lankan poetry written since 1948, in Sinhala, Tamil and English

In 2007, the National Book Trust brought out “Bridging Connections”, an anthology of Sri Lankan short stories edited by Rajiva Wijesinha, a member of the Sri Lankan Parliament, and a distinguished writer and academic.

Spurred by its success, they considered bringing out a companion anthology of Sri Lankan poetry. After hesitating initially, Wijesinha agreed to edit this volume as well. Launched recently in the Capital, “Mirrored Images” contains selections from English poetry as also translations from Sinhala and Tamil poetry into English. It includes works by some of the island country’s most respected poets, such as Cheran, Jean Arasanayagam, Richard Zoysa, among several others.

Go home, Elitist English!

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Ariyawansa Ranaweera, British Council, Colombo Book Fair, English, government, Gunadasa Amarasekara, in terms of the new found responsibilities I had acquired for education too, Jayawardenepura University, literature, LIYANAGE AMARAKEERTHI, maths, Mirrored Images: An Anthology of Sri Lankan Poetry, National Book Trust of India, National Library Services Board, part of his understanding of the way to win hearts and minds. I was also impressed by the explanation for his efficiency of the principal of the Sinhala Vidyalaya, poems, Poetry, Sabaragamuwa University, Science, Tamil

Language exists to bridge human connections, not to entertain the isolated elite. So believes Oxford-educated Rajiva Wijesinha with his career experience as a senior professor of languages. Recently published by the National Book Trust of India, an anthology under his editorship, ‘Mirrored Images: An Anthology of Sri Lankan Poetry’, the compilation aims to bridge cultural links of different ethnicities.

Rajiva Wijesinha, now Emeritus Professor cum Member of Parliament, shares his ideals about poetry and language in general as the Encounter of the Week.

Mirrored Images – Introduction

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Amarakeerthi Liyanage, Chelva Kanaganayakam, Days in the Trenches, Eric Illayaparacchi, Human Bomb, Indian Cultural Centre, Indian High Commissioner, Jean Arasanayagam, Lakshmi Holmstrom, Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration, National Book Trust of India, P. AHILAN, Peradeniya University, Poetry, Refugees – Old Man Old Woman, Sunday Observer

‘Mirrored Images’, a collection of English and Sinhala and Tamil poetry from Sri Lanka, was launched in Colombo on September 20th, and subsequently in Kandy on the 27th and in Jaffna on the 30th. The Colombo event was chaired by the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo, HE Yashwant Singh, with Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Minister of National Languages and Social Integration as Chief Guest. The even was arranged by the Indian Cultural Centre, in collaboration with the Alliance Francaise.

Both these institutions have collaborated on the launches in Kandy and in Jaffna. The former event was held at Peradeniya University and the latter at the Indian consulate. Poets featured in the book read at all the events, attendance in Colombo by readers from Jaffna, and vice versa, being sponsored by the Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration.

The volume was launched earlier in Canada by the Sri Lankan Mission in Toronto, with a keynote address by Prof Chelva Kanaganayakam, who has furnishe an introduction to the Tamil section of the book. Prof Chelvanayakam taught English previously at the University of Jaffna, while his father was Professor of Tamil at the University of Peradeniya. The introduction to the Sinhala section of the book was written by Prof Amarakeerthi Liyanage who teaches currently at the University of Peradeniya.

The book, which was edited by Prof Rajiva Wijesinha and published by the National Book Trust of India, is a sequel to ‘Bridging Connections’, a collection of English and Sinhala and Tamil short stories from Sri Lanka which was published in 2007 and has now been translated into Oriya and Marathi and Tamil.

Poems from each language on similar themes were brought together by Prof Wijesinha for a weekly column in the ‘Sunday Observer’, which was then features on this site. Over the next few months poems from each language, in alphabetical order of the names of the writers, as they appear in each section of the book, will be brought together here, to enhance understanding of the different styles and perspectives, and of the common humanity of all the writers.