This week, let me write briefly about some interesting notes on some personalities in the writing world and writing skills they possess.
I am a keen reader of Letters to the Editor, whether they are published under that title or other titles such as ‘Opinion’, ‘Point Of View’ and the like.
In the 1950s, I used to read in the Ceylon Observer almost every day letters by one reader from Dehiwela, George Solomons. I have a vague understanding that he was the father of one of our internationally known poets, Jean Arasanayagam.
Arul from Kotahena was a regular contributor and so were many other well-known people in Sri Lanka. While I was a student at St. Joseph’s College in the late 50s, an express night mail train was put on lines to Batticaloa and Trincomalee.
Since both my parents were from these two towns, I wanted to suggest a name for this express train (now known as Uthaya Devi-I believe). There were ‘Yarl Devi’, ‘Udarata Menike’, ‘Ruhunu Express’ and other express trains to various parts of the country.
Since there was a considerable number of Muslims in the Eastern province, I wanted to name it as ‘Beebee Express’.
Letters to the Editor
After school at 3.30 p.m. one Friday, I took the letter I wrote to Lake House and addressed to the Daily News and left it at the reception desk to be handed over to the Editor. I knew that Cecil Graham was the editor at the time, but had not known him personally although he was a teacher earlier, I gathered.
To my surprise and great delight I found that my letter was published on the following morning as the lead letter with a sketch of a railway engine wearing a Purdah, which the rural Muslim women wear. The sketch was by Collette, I suspect. The thrill of writing letters to the editor then enwrapped me.
Writing Letters to the Editor is a skill. Believe me. Thomas Feyer is in charge of editing the ‘letters’ in the New York Times. He wanted to speak to his readers about writing skills to his page.
Here is an excerpt from his suggestions: “A few important ground rules: Letters should be kept to about 150 words. (Not enough space? Well, the Gettysburg Address was only about 250 words).
They should be exclusive to the Times and respond to an article that appeared in the newspaper in the last week.
In fact, writing by the next day is a good idea. Like other sections of the newspaper, the letters page seeks to be timely, so even a very good letter that arrives three days later may get passed over.”
The paper seeks to ‘conversation about the issues of the day - big and not so big - as well as fresh, bright writing that stands out through its own charm. Timeliness is a must; brevity will improve your chances; stylishness and wit will win my heart.’
Rosemary Rogers
A New York Times bestselling author is Lanka-born Rosemary Rogers.
She was once married to ruggerite and one of Asia’s fastest human machines in the 1950s - Summa Navaratnam.
She is a popular writer in the U.S. Two of her new books are An Honourable Man (2002) and Surrender to Love (2003). Her other fiction includes Wicked Loving Lies, A Reckless Encounter, Sweet Savage Love, and Savage Desire.
The titles of her novels reveal what type of writing she desires. Her avid readers craving for such delights are served adequately; erotic writing with a touch of romance and love, but interesting stories. She knows how to spin them, and, therefore, she could remain a successful ‘pop’ writer for decades now.
I wonder why our own academics had not evaluated expatriate Lankan writers in English. Michael Ondaatje, Ernest McIntyre, Gamini Salgado, Romesh Gunasekera, Shyam Selvadurai, A. Sivanandan, Rosemary Rogers and a few others deserve to be studied exhaustively.
It’s true that one or two critiques on them have appeared in Sri Lankan journals, but not adequate.
A Lankan mosaic
Ashley Halpe, Ranjani Obesekera and M. A. Nuhman ‘edited’ a book of Translations of Sinhala and Tamil short stories titled A Lankan Mosaic.
A subsidiary of The Gratiaen Trust, Three Wheeler Press brought out this anthology. Lanka-born Canadian writer Michael Ondaatjee founded this trust to promote Sri Lankan writing in English.
Among Ondaatje’s books is The English Patient, which was made into a notable film.
A Lankan Mosaic has some fine short stories written in Sinhala and Tamil.
The writers featured in this collection are: Liyanage Amarakeerthi, Asoka Handagama, Eric Ilayapparachchi, Jayathilake Kammallaweera, Arawwala Nandimitra, Simon Nawagattegama, Eva Ranaweera, Ajit Tilakasena, Keerthi Welisarage, Nissanka Wijemanne, Anula Wijeratne Menike, Sarath Wijesuriya, Ottamavadi Arafath, Al Azoomath, S.L.M. Hanifa, Kalamohan, Thirukovil Kaviyuvan, M.L.M. Mansoor, Ranjakumar, A. Ravi, K. Saddanathan, Chakkarawarthi, A. Santhan, Shanmugam Sivalingam, Raja Sri Kanthan, Sutharaj, Thaamaraichelvi, Uma Varatharajan, and Francis Xavier.
There are many more good writing in Sinhala and Tamil, which the publishers should consider to publish as translations. There are writers of the earlier generation, whose works deserve to be translated.