Random Musings
Literature:
Mother-tongue matters
Sachitra MAHENDRA
| The local English literature is not considered heavy-weight in
media. Except for a limited number of English medium papers, other media
hardly have anything about English books save a detail about a launch.
They suffer the lack of a full-time English-medium local TV channel. |
The State Literary Festival reached an end on Sunday as usual with
impending clashes in Sinhala literary circles. Britain's Man Booker
Prize has also issued their shortlist in the meantime. The local English
literature's contribution in the local discussion scene is meagre
compared with Sinhala literature; Booker has turned up heat in the
British literary scene, and it will probably last even after the grand
winner was announced. Mother tongue matters whatever said otherwise.
 The local literary festival encourages writers of many genres,
whereas Booker's focus is fiction. Sri Lanka carved its position on the
Booker list in 1992, when Ceylon-born Canadian-resident Michael Ondaatje
shared the award with British-born Barry Unsworth for his The English
Patient.
Interestingly this time, English publications have won the least
number of awards, 6, at the literary festival of all three language
mediums. No surprise. When we once did a calculation of registered
English publications in 2007, it was in the region of only 20. It is so
encouraging to see at least six have been awarded out of twenty.
The panel of Judges has the obvious headache getting the true account
of books published in the previous year banking on the registered list
of books, even in Sinhala. Several 2007 books have not been registered.
Other 2007 publications are registered in the early stage of this year.
Cross-checking the published year and registration is, of course, a
painful task. Sending the publications to the Department of National
Archives to get them registered is the publisher's sole responsibility.
There are times when the busy schedules make the publishers drop some
books from the registration in-tray.
The local English literature is not considered heavy-weight in media.
Except for a limited number of English medium papers, other media hardly
have anything about English books save a detail about a launch. They
suffer the lack of a full-time English-medium local TV channel. Compared
with the huge publicity given to Sinhala works, you can say local
English books get a step-motherly treatment.
Local English books seldom reach the common reader. First because the
average price is about Rs.750, which is high. And many do not read local
English books. The limited reading crowd includes those who have studied
English for their Bachelor's and the so called 'elite minority' whose
first language is English.
Back to literary festivals. We talk high on conflicts in the Sinhala
literary circles. Experts say we should adopt European standards not to
fight over the judgment, but remain calm and serene. Britain's Booker
judges have snubbed Salman Rushdie's Enchantress of Florence by not even
short-listing it. John Sutherland is an eminent literary critic who
publicly announced that he 'would curry and eat the proof copy' if the
book didn't win.
It's in a way challenging the judgment, and has already stirred up
clashes. You can see lots of things like this in the Booker prize
business these days. Sometimes it's even worse than the conflicts in the
local literary circles!
Local English literature can't have a face-lift. They are a sort of
hybridised type; talked hardly in the local and international arena.
What is your feeling? Methinks mother-tongue matters more as always!
[email protected]
|
