|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Wednesday, 8 December 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Artscope | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
The centennial of Leonard Woolf's arrival in Colombo by N. Sivasambu On December 16, 2004 we are marking the Centennial of the arrival in Colombo of Leonard Woolf, whose novel, The Village in the Jungle 1913, is one of the two markers for the beginning of what we have termed the Contemporary Period of our Modern Cultural History: 1905, when author of the other marker, Ananda Coomaraswamy wrote his Open Letter to the Kandyan Chiefs, to 1967, when the 43 Group of painters held their final Exhibition. We mark this occasion with a tree in Tavistock Square, Bloomsbury, Camden Borough, where Leonard Woolf and his wife Virginia Woolf lived from 1924 to 1939. Their home at No. 52 also housed their pioneering publishing concern, the Hogarth Press. The Commemorative tree, Ginkgo biloba (Maidenhair Tree), is dedicated to those who created the Contemporary Period in Colombo and London and to those who are a part of it, for instance Martin Russell whose response since 1942 to the 43 Group of painters projected internationally especially George Keyt and helped project the rest of the Group. As the Leonard Woolf novel was a creative-intellectual impulse for this period, the plaque recording this period, now of historic permanence, will be unveiled by the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka Faisz Musthapha. For the second of the two tasks facing us, the choice of the person who would plant the tree commemorating the centennial of Leonard Woolf's arrival, the considered view and advice of particularly those who know the Bloomsbury Group was that it should be some one who is close to Leonard Woolf, as a kinsman, and to the Bloomsbury Group. We have accepted their choice of Leonard Woolf's nephew, Cecil Woolf who is also a kindred spirit of the Bloomsbury Group. We thank Cecil Woolf with much pleasure for accepting our invitation to plant the Commemorative tree. Tree planting The planting of the tree at 2.30 pm is followed at 3.30 pm by a seminar on his novel, the first response of a modern sensibility to our condition: its themes and structure, quality of literary form and language, nature and significance of achievement, intelligence and sensibility of the Cambridge of his time and Bloomsbury. Seminar venue will be Institute of Commonwealth Studies, No. 28 Russell Square, London WC1. Seminar panel: Victoria Glendinning who is writing a biography of Leonard Woolf, Romesh Gunesekera (novelist), and Alastair Niven who has a special interest in those writers from Asia who have, to cite his words, "crossed the Woolfs' path". Yasmine Gooneratne sends, from Pemberley House, Haputale, Sri Lanka, her recorded contribution. A new edition of The Village in the Jungle based on the MSS Trekkie Parsons presented to the University of Ceylon library in 1974 has been prepared by Yasmine Gooneratne. This annotated edition corrects errors in the 1913 edition and restores in its detailed notes the excisions made in that edition, which were probably felt to be too controversial when the ideology of empire governed the Victorian mind. Thirty hand bound copies of this new edition have been received by us and will be on sale at the Centennial. Those interested in purchasing copies please contact us now. We can order more. We warmly welcome all to the Commemorative tree planting. Those who wish to attend the seminar, which is by invitation because seating is limited, must contact us as early as possible. The seminar is dedicated to the City of Colombo which realised the greater part of our Contemporary Cultural History. We have conceived the seminar as a step towards an Annual Lecture-Seminar on Our Studies named for Colombo. Literary cultural link As the Centennial also marks the literary-cultural link between Colombo and London realised since Leonard Woolf's arrival on our shores, December 16, 2004 is seen as an occasion and an opportunity to consciously make this link another marker by spanning the two capitals in some formalised manner. We had said in all previous drafts of this circular that, with his composition, 'Tribute to Leonard Woolf', Rohan de Saram concludes The Leonard Woolf Centennial: whilst commemorating 'Beddagama', Sinhalese in the author's spelling, for 'The Village in the Jungle', we look to the future in terms of the bridge between London and Colombo our author projected, of literary-cultural and, in advance of his age, the Enlightened emergent social-political values of England nursed by the Cambridge of his time and Bloomsbury. We are unable to say so in this finalised text. The University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka has conferred on Rohan de Saram the Degree of Doctor of Literature Honoris Causa for his achievements and contribution as a musician and cellist. As the Convocation at which he receives this Degree is on December 15th he cannot be with us. He is however sending his recorded 'Tribute to Leonard Woolf'. This centennial may prove to be an historic occasion. The writer is the co-ordinator The Ceylon Bloomsbury Group 28 Tavistock Place, Bloomsbury, London WC1H 9RE, England T 020 7278 5232 00 44 (0) 20 7278 5232 **** Back **** |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
