Kusal Perera on books and writing

Kusal Perera is a writer and journalist based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This interview has been edited lightly

By Taylor Dibbert

Q: Your book ‘Pringles for Stars’ has just been released. Would you tell us a little bit about it?

 Well, it was not meant for print or for public posting in social media or anywhere. But it did happen after about 12 years. They were mere rambling thoughts that I sort of gathered in story form. In fact, it was a way I relaxed on and off between tiring long spells of serious political writing and reading, accepting invitations for numerous forums for a lecture and so on.

Writing these short stories began just before the new millennium after I published my first short novel ‘Magpie Song’. Meanwhile, I also wrote a long novel called ‘Kicking around Love Grass’ that was published in 2003.

So, these were really short works – breaking the monotony and taking time for ad hoc breathers. These capture many aspects of Sri Lankan society: human relationships in urban middle class; little “nobody’s kids” on the Colombo streets; life in remote villages and their struggle for survival; the final night’s psyche of a female suicide bomber; the infighting in rural schools between principal and staff, et cetera.

Q: Why did you decide to write it?

As I said before, it wasn’t planned stuff. I did not write because I wanted to publish a short story collection. It simply happened that way and took almost two decades since the first short story was written.

Q: How do you think the book will be received in Colombo and elsewhere?

That’s a tough question to answer. More because I didn’t have an audience in mind for whom I should write. So, it’s left to be seen. One thing here in Colombo is that an author’s name carries a weight in gaining a readership. Mine is not one that fits in with creative writing. So, I will leave it for those who wish to try reading unknown fiction writers.

Q:  You’re also a journalist. In what ways, if any, is writing fiction different?

 Yes, writing fiction for me is taking the freedom to write without restrictions. Giving imaginations to ride high. As a political commentator and journalist I always live with the responsibility of being factually correct, informative, incisive, analytical and within media ethics and professional obligations – when I contribute to mainstream media for my columns. That is not there for fiction. You allow your imaginations to run riot and then put them in some narrative form.

Q:  What’s the best book that you’ve read in the past year?

 Most recently I read one of the most terrifyingly investigative experiences by a French journalist Anna Erelle, that was written into a book titled ‘Undercover Jihadi Bride: Inside Islamic State’s Recruitment Networks’. That was everything – suspense, love, technology, treachery, terror, Islamic rituals, journalism and ethics, all rolled into one magnificently written true story.

Q:  Are there any books that you’re looking forward to reading?

 Yes, I have two books at hand. I have this bad habit of reading two to three books at a time. One is Bill McKibben’s ‘Deep Economy’. And the other is a Sinhala book, ‘History of Sri Lankan Tamil Cinema’, very informative from what I glanced through. That was compiled and written by a young Tamil writer Anusha Sivalingam who writes equally well in both Sinhala and Tamil.

(Taylor Dibbert is a writer and consultant based in the Washington, DC area. Follow him on Twitter @taylordibbert. [email protected].)