‘Write to Reconcile’ announces exciting new program

‘Write to Reconcile’, a free creative writing program with an emphasis on reconciliation, begins its third year on 29 March with some exciting new changes: an emphasis on post war themes and also greater diaspora involvement. In addition, the award-wining writer, Nayomi Munaweera, will join the Project Director, the internationally renowned Sri Lankan author, Shyam Selvadurai, to form the creative team behind the project.

Write to Reconcile was inaugurated in 2012 by Shyam Selvadurai. This innovative writing project, conducted in English, brings together emerging writers from Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan diaspora, between the ages of 18 to 29, as well as Sri Lankan teachers and professors, who are interested in writing fiction, memoir or poetry on the issues of conflict, peace, reconciliation, memory and trauma, as they relate to Sri Lanka, with an emphasis on the period after the war. The entire program is free of charge; all expenses of the participants are met by the organisation. Only 25 participants in total will be selected.

Over the course of a week-long residential workshop (optional for members of the diaspora) and two 3-week online forums, participants will learn the craft of writing and produce work that addresses the themes of the project. The work produced by the participants will be published in the ‘Write to Reconcile Anthology 3’ and distributed free island-wide, as well as internationally, through an online version. The previous two anthologies can be read at www.writetoreconcile.com.

The project is funded by the American Centre. This is the third year the American Centre has been a sponsor of the program. The US Embassy strongly supports important initiatives like Write to Reconcile to open the dialogue on reconciliation and bridge the experiences of different communities in Sri Lanka,” said US Embassy Public Affairs Counsellor Nicole Chulick. For the third year as well, the project enjoys a fruitful relationship with the National Peace Council, under whose auspices the project is undertaken. 

Speaking of the ongoing partnership, the Council’s Executive Director Dr. Jehan Perera said, “Working together with Shyam Selvadurai brings an extra dimension of arts and culture into NPC’s portfolio of activities that address the heart as well as the head. The two anthologies our partnership has produced are very well received by those who wish to gain a deeper insight into Sri Lanka’s transitional process.”

The project’s outcome for 2016 will be focussed more on creative pieces that reflect the post-war situation with particular emphasis on the border villages and the Vanni. The project Shyam Selvadurai, commenting on this new focus said, “Post-war themes, as well as pieces on the border villages and the Vanni were in short supply in the previous anthologies. So I am keen the next anthology have stories and poems about this.” Two other important points of view that Selvadurai hopes to see in the upcoming anthology are the experience of the diaspora and the LTTE, both of which were in short supply in previous anthologies.

To try and source diasporic stories, Selvadurai has instituted a structural innovation to ‘Write to Reconcile’ 2016: There will be between 5-10 places for participants from the diaspora, who will only participate online and don’t need to attend the residential workshop. “It is important to get their point of view too. They were key players in the war and should also be part of post-war reconciliation.” 

In keeping with the recent positive developments in Sri Lanka towards building harmony and equal justice for and between all communities, the theme of the new instalment of Write to Reconcile will be ‘Looking Back, Moving Forwards’. 

The call for applications goes out on 29 March. Anyone interested in participating can join the project’s Facebook page or send an email to [email protected] and ask to be put on the mailing list to receive an application. Applications can also be downloaded at www.writetoreconcile.com.