Seeking novetly in the novel

Sajitha PREMATUNGE

They say creative writing cannot be taught, some would go so far as to say it cannot even be acquired. But this writer only needed a jolt of inspiration. It is indeed strange that a Sinhala writer had to go all the way to Iowa, USA to be inspired to write.

Prof A V Suraweera. Pictures by Saman Sri Wedage

But Prof Alankarage Victor Suraweera’s sabbatical leave in 1967 was spent most productively when he took a creative writing course at the Iowa University that literally changed his life. His debut short story collection, Katath Ma Epa Wela was a direct result of this experience.

“The writer must be the first critic of his or her own writing. Once a writer finishes the first draft, he or she should return to it as a critic and examine the writing in a critical perspective,” says Daily News Artscope’s next encounter, Prof A V Suraweera.

He does his creative work in Sinhala and his critical works in both Sinhala and English. Now he is five novels and four short story collections strong. No two stories are alike. He introduced to Sri Lankan literature two disciplines hitherto unexplored - sociology of literature and editing of classical texts.

He completed a number of editions based on Ola manuscripts, such as Rajavaliya, Poojavaliya and Thisara Sandeshaya.

Lekhana Sameeksha, an examination of writing in Sri Lanka, which will be out in a few days is guaranteed to have ‘many surprises’ for the reader. “It focuses on areas that no other writer has dealt with,” says Prof A V Suraweera.

Q: Why have you not done any creative writing in English?

A: I write in the language I am most familiar with and then translate my own work into English.

Q: You have not engaged in creative writing for quite some time, are you suffering from writers’ block?

A: A good writer has to be inspired to write. I haven’t felt a creative urge to write lately. But I have been engaged in other literary work.

Q: Where does Sinhala writing stand today, the novel in particular?

A: The heyday of the Sinhala novel is long gone. Sinhala writing today is largely substandard. The modern generation of Sinhala writers churn up two to three substandard novels a year. We have novels coming out of the woodworks. Modern writers have no respect for their craft. Most Sinhala writing today is targeted at securing awards which as substandard as the writing it judges.

Q: Why is Sinhala writing substandard?

A: The so-called writers today, lack a few prerequisites of a writer. They are not familiar with either the classical Sinhala texts or modern world writing through English.

Sri Lanka has a very rich literary tradition. In fact very few other literary cultures possess such a rich tradition. Writers such as Martin Wickramasinghe and Piyadasa Sirisena possessed this knowledge. Simply put, this new generation of ‘writers’ are not well-read.

Another prerequisite is the mastering of the language. It does not mean conforming to grammar. Language of fiction has to be creative but refined at the same time. Only such books can stand the test of time.

Some of the modern Sinhala fiction today makes liberal use of what I refer to as the ‘gutter language’.

Moreover modern writers are not rooted in our cultural background. In fact some are quite oblivious to it.

Q: Writing a short story is more difficult than writing a novel, would you agree?

A: Yes and no. They are two different genres employing different techniques and therefore difficult to compare.

However a short story is forced to be selective in terms of plot and other characteristics due to space constraints. It cannot entertain irrelevant material, everything has to reflect the theme. A novel has greater scope.

Q: What influenced the Sinhala short story, Western literature or Jathaka Stories?

A: Martin Wickramasinghe was for the latter. Jathaka Stories certainly had some influence over the Sinhala short story in it that they were stories themselves. However the short story and the novel for that matter are Western literary concepts.

Q: Why has a tradition of literary criticism not evolved in Sri Lanka?

A: Readership, literature and literary criticism are interlinked. One cannot thrive without the other. For a tradition of literary criticism to evolve, it requires rich literature as well as a mature reading public. We have none of these.

The average reader is generally immature and has bad taste in literature.

Our critical literary went down hill from the 1970’s. The education system is a primary cause for this deterioration. The Sri Lankan education system is exam oriented. Although we are busy talking about a knowledge oriented society we are not striving to build one.

Q: What form of literary criticism can be applied to Sinhala literature?

A: No one can pinpoint what literary theory can be applied to Sinhala literature. Literature of any country has to have its own identity.

It is this identity that separates Sri Lankan literature from English, American, African, French or Russian literature. We have lost our identity, instead we talk of the influence of Western literature.

This is why Martin Wickramasinghe emphasised on a Buddhist rationalist literary theory, in his Sinhala Vichara Maga. Neither our literature nor literary theory require foreign models, we have an identity of our own.

Q: What are the characteristics of an ideal critic?

A: The ideal critic has to be familiar with literary theories. He has to be well read and unbiased.

Q: A Writer has to expose the truth at the risk of negative criticism, please comment.

A: This is one of the major functions of a writer.

A society cannot understand itself, it is the duty of a writer to point out its shortcomings in an outsider’s perspective.

But unfortunately this is what is lacking today. Our writers are too eager to please, there is little social commentary in modern literature.

Q: How does a writer’s social background affect his or her creative pursuits?

A: A writer cannot function without his socio cultural background. A writer is a product of the society. Everything about a writer is moulded by his social setting. This is why a writer cannot tackle a society totally alien to him.

This is what I deal with in the book Samajeeya Sahithya Adyanaya, I wrote on my return from reading sociology of literature at the University of Kent, Canterbury.

Q: How can a writer use social observation in creative writing?

A: It is a fine line between fact and fiction. In any work of literature there is a certain amount of fact.

Whether it is a writer’s personal experience or social observation, it invariably seeps into his writing.

But this truth is usually manipulated into fiction. How far a writer can make use of social observation depends on his or her skill.

Q: You have taught creative writing and wrote ‘Nawakatha Nirmanaya ha Awabodaya’. Can creative writing really be taught and/or acquired?

A: Yes and no. One can teach how to enhance creative talents, not to write.

If you don’t have talent, it can certainly be acquired if you have the will. This is what is taught in creative writing programmes, how to acquire talent.

Q: There is a dearth of conflict literature in English in Sri Lanka. Is it the same for Sinhala literature?

A: The body of conflict literature is rather small compared to the time span of the war.

Only recently have certain writers started to focus on the subject, but these works are still at the elementary stage. Perhaps the writers were not directly affected by the conflict.

Q: Some Sinhala writers, including you, to some extent, are synonymous with village-well literature. Alienated Sri Lankan English writers resorted to this in an attempt reconnect with the village. Why did Sinhala writers romanticise the village?

A: In my defence, I did not limit my subject matter to village life, I only started off with it. The accounts of village life by Sri Lankan English writers did not ring true because they belonged to the Colombo community. However Sinhala writers tended to romanticise the village, because most of them were originally from the village.

Q: In ‘Atta Bindei Paya Burulen’ you discuss the hypocrisy of university lecturers. Is this a result of your personal experiences as a lecturer? A:Yes. In fact the hypocrisy is now more acute. The main function of a teacher is to teach, then conduct research. These are hardly fulfilled. The situation of research in Sri Lankan universities is pathetic.

Q: It is apparent from ‘Katath Ma Epa Wela’ that you like to analyse the human psyche, what is the special interest? A:No special interest. I wanted to give something new to the reader each time. There is a certain amount of personal experience in the story, in it that it is based on a personal observation.

Q: In ‘Pedidiyata Boradiya’, you used colloquial language in dialogue and written language in the narration. Why?

A: For the sake of novelty. Dialogue is what people speak. This iswhy I used the language of the people in the dialogues. However even in the dialogue, selective language is used.

Q:You are known for inventing Sinhala words for English words. Doesn’t this reduce the quality of Sinhala?

A:On the contrary, this enriches the Sinhala language. Most post modernist writers, in books or other medium, attempt to explain English words in Sinhala and failing that gives the original English word within brackets. This way you understand neither Sinhala nor English. It is better to invent Sinhala words for English words, instead of substituting them with the English counter part.

Q:According to surveys conducted by the National Education Commission, most school children cannot write proper Sinhala. In this light what is your comment on the current English oriented education? Would this inhibit the Sinhala creative ability of Sri Lankan children?

A:There is a craze for English today. They think that a bit of English would take you a long way in life. This is one of the reasons for parents to send their children to international schools. Moreover the education system being exam oriented, there is hardly any focus on creative writing. This English oriented education would definitely affect the creative abilities of school children, irrespective of the medium.

Most school children cannot write proper Sinhala. Their English, for that matter, is not good either. They can speak but cannot write. Consequently they are incompetent in both languages.

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