Fairway Galle Literary Festival 2017: A recap

By Himal Kotelawala

Fairway Galle Literary Festival (FGLF) 2017, one of the country’s premier literary events, came to a close on Sunday, 15 January, having, for the first time, adding hitherto unexplored territory in the country’s literary landscape to its growing reach. This was the first GLF in which Sinhala literature was recognised and celebrated by the predominantly English-friendly festival, what with an entire day being devoted to Sinhala literary programs and talks in its otherwise routinely international) lineup. There were some sessions of note that Daily FT was present at, and the following is a summary of each:

Last Journalists in a Dictatorship

Indian journalist Anjan Sundaram, whose books Stringer: A Reporter’s Journey in the Congo, and Bad News: Last Journalists in a Dictatorship met widespread critical acclaim, gave an interesting talk on a topic that is all too relevant to Sri Lanka – or at least used to be, until two years ago: The journalist’s role in an increasingly authoritarian state. Moderated by journalist Govind Dhar, the session struck some familiar chords when Sundaram recounted his experiences in dealing with journalists in Rwanda. Daily FT managed to have a quick chat with Sundaram soon after:

Q: In Sri Lanka, during the height of the war, there was an unsavoury situation where journalists were seen by a significant portion of the populace as enemies of the state due to the anti-war sentiments publicly expressed by certain journalistic circles. How do you, as a journalist, reconcile such personal politics and popular sentiment with journalistic integrity?

A: “Journalists are ordinary citizens. We’re not a special breed. We’re not immune to corruption or mistakes or personal pressures. I don’t judge people who make choices. In the book, I describe some journalists who began to work for the Government, etc. I don’t mention their names. It’s not for me to judge their situation. People make all kinds of choices. But to me they’re not acting like true journalists. Once you no longer hold the Government accountable, once you no longer work in the public interest, you are no longer a journalist. They become propagandists. People will say they’re not journalists.”

Q: Are you pressured to be patriotic as a journalist?

A: “My job as a journalist is to hold power accountable. People don’t have the resources. They rely on journalists who have some kind of social standing to speak up for others.” 

Q: Does the truth trump everything else?

A: “I think truth is a process. I think what happens is that you have circles of truth – because there is no debate. People start to believe things, and believe them very firmly. That belief never engages with the contradictions. I think that is very dangerous for a society. People believe all kinds of crazy things that are not true, but to them, it’s their truth – because the truth as a process is broken.”

Q: But what if the country is a war footing? Is there undue pressure to be cautious and extra sensitive?

A: I think then the journalist’s role becomes even more important in a war situation. You have propaganda an all sides. Here, a journalist is essential. In that case, the truth is very important. You’re right in that there are some considerations to be made. For example, recently in Gambia, the president lost the election and he said he’d step down. And then a journalist from went and interviewed the Opposition, and some member of the Opposition said they’re going to put the president in prison for all the corruption, torture, etc [that happened under his watch]. Now the president, who was stepping down, is understood to be going back to his form. You kind of need to make some allowances.

It’s sensitive. It’s not mindless obedience to a principle of truth. There are situations. But if there is abuse of power and you don’t report, there will be more abuse of power. That is the journalist’s job. If there are people being massacred, and nobody writers about it, more people will be massacred.

Q: How do you make that call? Whether to report or withhold?

A: You have to decide whether it’s in the public interest. You have to make that call. It’s a dangerous profession.

 

Fairway National 

Literary Awards

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was the chief guest at the Fairway National Literary Awards 2016, held at the FGLF on Friday, 13 January. Speaking at the event, the Premier announced that next year, the State will step in to ensure an even more successful FGLF, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the country’s independence. 

“Next year is the 70th anniversary of our independence. And just before that will be the Galle Literary Festival. The state will step in to have a very successful GLF on the 70th anniversary of our independence. The different literary works in the three languages show how we have matured since independence, and the separate identity we have established, and how now we carve out a niche in the world itself,” said Wickremesinghe.

Commending the festival for the work it has done to promote English literature in Sri Lanka over the years as well as the importance of the literary awards, the Prime Minister said that it was encouraging to see more and more young authors had entered the competition. 

“I was glad to see the number of people who have entered the English competition. Our authors in English are doing quite well. We see more and more young authors writing in English and going international. That’s something that has to be encouraged,” he said.

Speaking in Sinhala, Wickremesinghe also congratulated the winners and nominees in the Sinhala category of the awards, and expressed his wish to see more Tamil participation.

“Only two novels in Tamil have made it. I hope there will be more Tamil novels, and in time to come the Tamil novel audience should not be limited to Sri Lanka. There is a big Tamil diaspora and a Tamil speaking population next door,” he said.

“Our endeavour is to ensure that the literary talent in this country is brought out to the world. That’s our target. We hope more of the private sector will be involved in sponsoring literary works in the country,” he added.

The Fairway National Literary Award (English) went to First Utterance, a self-published fantasy novel by Theena Kumaragurunathan that incorporates elements of magical realism and unconventional narrative structure.

Maha Ravana by Tennyson Perera won the award for Sinhala, and Panjam Pilaikka Vantha by M. Sivalingam clinched the award for Tamil language novel.

According to panellist and Gratiaen Award winning poet Vivimarie Vanderpoorten who spoke at the event, from a total of 12 entries, four books were shortlisted for the award. 

“Some of the elements we looked for in shortlisting and as well as deciding on the winner were fluency and innovative use of language, a grace of style and engaging plot. We were guided by the ability of the novel to make us see the world a little differently, by the energy and the confidence of the storytelling, and the extravagance of imagination,” she said.

Speaking on the winning entry for the English award, Vanderpoorten said: “We have chosen for the award an ambitious novel which is at once poetic, dramatic and genre defining. Written in flawless language for where there is no simpler word than beautiful, this work employs magic realism, effortlessly blends different genres of literature and embeds the sordid realities of contemporary politics in a fantasy fiction context to capture the reader’s attention and imagination. A thought provoking and disturbing and dystopian in which the sane and the insane have traded places, this highly experimental novel is infused with satire and sarcasm to ask us important questions. It also compels the reader to stretch beyond their own limited imaginations, consider deeper and richer uses of literary and narrative structure.”