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Shehan’s Booker and SL’s literary potential 

19 Oct 2022

Bringing international fame to Sri Lanka for the country’s potential in the literature field, writer Shehan Karunatilaka’s The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida won the 2022 Booker prize. His achievement has already made international headlines, and has been appreciated by foreign commentators and authors.  While Karunatilaka’s achievement deserves to be celebrated, it is also a message that Sri Lanka has a great deal of potential in the literature field that is yet to be recognised and developed, which is a cause for concern. However, during the past two and a half years, literary work did not receive the due support, and even the challenges it faced were not acknowledged properly. It must be noted that there is no proper acknowledgement of the extent and nature of the damage that the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis have caused to the literature field since 2020. On the one hand, the writers’ ability to publish good literary work and to keep writing as a livelihood have been limited considerably, and on the other hand, the readers’ ability to support writers has been limited owing to their diminished purchasing power.  In both cases, the economic crisis has had a massive role to play, especially when it comes to readers’ ability to purchase books and thereby encourage more and better literary work. As American psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explains, the people’s ability to enjoy creative work comes after physiological requirements are fulfilled, which is quite challenging in a context where having three meals a day itself has become a huge challenge for many readers.  In this context, the Government has a duty to fulfil the support that the literature field lost from the general society, thus reversing the above mentioned damage caused to this field and in turn developing it to capitalise on its potential which is equally important. To do that, the Government should evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the literature field, understand this field’s potential, and devise a plan to uplift this sector. Such a process can be established and supported successfully through a proper national policy on literary work, which seeks to promote and support the country’s potential in the literary field. In addition to traditional methods of doing so, using modern methods such as online platforms can really help the country’s budding writers to reach international platforms. Even though international awards are generally given to literary works that are in the English language, Karunatilaka’s achievement should serve as a starting point to pay attention to literary works in other languages as well. Although they may not have the same opportunity in international platforms as far as recognition is concerned, non-English literary work has a promising future in the country. However, that depends on how morally and financially strengthened writers feel, and how financially safe and strengthened readers feel. At the same time, getting the private sector’s contribution to uplift the literary field is crucial, especially when it comes to improving this sector as a profitable venture.  That will also hopefully increase exposure to Sri Lankan talent and even attract more funding for literary work. Sri Lanka has a lot of potential in many sectors to rise as a nation. However, its potential receives limited attention and that too on special occasions, and rather than genuine and tangible support, most of the time, it is mere appreciation that those with talent receive. This situation has to change, before the country finds itself in a situation where lost talent cannot be brought back or re-developed. A proper national policy that does not change according to personal and political agendas could perhaps be the beginning of change.


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