Sunday Times 2
‘The funny people of Sri Lanka’ wins first Edward Lear Prize for poetry
View(s):By Kaveesha Fernando
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea In a beautiful pea green boat They took some honey, and plenty of money Wrapped up in a five-pound note.’
These are the opening lines of Edward Lear’s most famous poem, ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’.
The Edward Lear Prize: Winner Ashwin Dias’s mother Shanthi Dias accepting the award on his behalf from co-owners of the Owl and Pussycat Hotel Shane Thantirimudalige and Reita Gadikari
Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limericks – a form he popularised. In memory of this great poet, the inaugural Edward Lear Prize for poetry took place on Day three of the Fairway Galle Literary Festival. Reita Gadikari and Shane Thantriri Mudalige, co-owners of the Owl and Pussycat hotel, founded this prize in the hope that it would encourage up and coming poets between the ages of 18 and 30 to showcase their talents.
Speaking at the awards ceremony Shane explained that although the hotel was based on the Owl and the Pussycat, they did not plan on founding a prize in honour of Edward Lear until they were asked to do so by the organisers of the Fairway Galle Literary Festival. “Some poets opposed the age limit but we wanted to encourage young writers so we decided to stand by our decision,” he said. In an emotional speech, Reita explained that poetry has been very close to her because growing up she was surrounded by people who couldn’t read but could recite poetry, thus allowing her to be a part of the rich history of poetry in the Indian subcontinent.
The top five finalists were given the chance to read their poems at the event, following which the winners were announced. A panel of five judges with three international judges and two local judges had carefully deliberated over the entries before choosing the top five. They looked at the poem’s relevance to theme, their own impression of the poem, the poetic structure, originality and spelling when choosing the winners.
The top 5 with the presenters of the prize: Winner Ashwin Dias’s mother Shanthi Dias, Pawan Kalugala’s mother Mrs. Kalugala, Shane Thantirimudalige, Ranga Rashmika Nambuwasam , Shafni Awam, Sarah Jauffer and Reita Gadikari
Shafni Awam’s collection of poems (‘A small scene’/ ‘Asparagus, the ravenous’/ ‘Bakthi-Ektasis’) saw him placed fourth runner up, while Sarah Jauffer’s ‘Red Shoes’ was placed third runner up. Second runner up was Pawan Kalugala, whose poem was titled ‘Misfortunes of a fisherman’s daughter’, while ‘In quest for a grander West’ by Ranga Rashmika Nambuwasam was placed first runner up.
Ashwin Dias won the prize for his poem, ‘The funny people of Sri Lanka’. In his absence, it was read out by his mother Shanthi Dias, who wittily remarked that as usual it was the mother left holding the baby. However, as an English teacher, she seemed very pleased with her son’s achievement, especially given the fact that Ashwin, an engineer by profession only writes poems as a hobby. Interestingly, he mistakenly thought that the poems had to be in limerick form, thus making his entry much more structured than the rest.
A special performance by poet, spoken word artist and playwright Kate Tempest was well received by the audience, who were mesmerised by her rendition of poetry and rap.