The taste of poetry

It is said that poetry is meant to be listened to or meant to be read silently. This tradition may have changed from time to time. Now poetry has become a part of the Internet cage where those who prefer to select channels like the facebook etc could read it. Though I am not a follower of that tradition, I cannot afford to undermine some of the effects created thereby.

Our good friend and columnist Buddhadasa Galappatty has brought out a volume of poems titled as 'Kavi Mihira' (The Taste of Poetry). This is an innovative collection of poems written by various types of poets over the years. The compiler had initially presented each poem as a poetry column in a daily Sinhala newspaper.

As years have passed, the necessity has arisen to compile them. Each piece of poem selected is introduced in order and seeps into some inner experiences and visions. Out of 36 poems selected by Galappatty, a share goes to such stalwarts in the field as Siri Gunasinghe, Mahagama Sekara, Parakrama Kodituwakku, Monica Ruwanpathirana and Gunadasa Amarasekara.

Newcomer to literature

In this direction, the reader is given the chance to reconsider his stance in the preference to elders as well as newcomers to the literary scene. As this is meant to be a personal choice on the part of the compiler, reader is shown a new path as an alternative measure to the more accepted prescribed poetry texts which seldom change from its conventional ways.

This also opens new vistas to show new trends in the Sinhala poetic creations. As such, this compilation is a mirror of a minor type (many more to come according to the compiler). I would have preferred to see a good preface to this compilation, as it is needed to gauge the path and the growth (if there is any) in the field of poetry today.

Welcome variant

At least one or two poems by the Colombo school, for example Wimalaratne Kumaragama, could have been a welcome variant to the ones already included.

But there again my personal preference may not be the preference of another. The poem selected from 'facebook' written by Ruwan Bandajiva titled as Kundalakesi is noteworthy. This shows the latent skills of a newcomer who has an eye to rediscovery from the past literary sources to reinterpret present day experiences.

Poetry creations have come a long way. But I feel that unlike in some of the countries where I have observed, discourse on the subject has missing links. For instance, I see that even poetry creations in English in India had gathered a wider audience than it is seen at home.

But we observe as general readers that there is a wide gamut of poetic contributions laid aside in Sinhala newspaper pages. Poetry undoubtedly is created sans a discourse. From an anthology of this sort, perhaps, an innovative discourse will emerge.

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