From old to new it mirrors a changing literary landscape

Kaleidoscope: An Anthology of Sri Lankan English Literature (Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2007) – edited by D.C.R.A. Goonetilleke

This anthology is the first to celebrate Sri Lankan literature in all its variety - fiction, poetry, drama and non-fiction, a cross-section of how Lankans thought and wrote from colonial times to today. It tells of love and war, of sex and food, of the tsunami and terrorism, and comprises writers from senior to sci-fi authors. Its kaleidoscopic patterns mirror the changing nation.

Ranging from the origins of our English literature, to the stirrings of a patriotic fervour, a response to the glories of an ancient culture and the dreams of youth in the Kandy Lake Poets to the acid disenchantment of the 21st century, it offers a wide range of modes and evokes a whole gamut of moods and action.

Above all, this anthology proffers entertainment and enjoyment, while simultaneously sharpening the reader’s perceptions.

It includes a generous selection from our established writers such as Punyakante Wijenaike, Carl Muller, Suvimalee Karunaratna, Yasmine Gooneratne, Patrick Fernando, Lakdasa Wikkramasinha, Anne Ranasinghe, Regi Siriwardena and Ernest Thalayasingham MacIntyre as well as outstanding recent writers (some bilingual) such as Nihal de Silva, A. Santhan, Sunethra Rajakarunanayake, Kamani Jayasekera and U. Karunatilake. D.C.R.A. Goonetilleke, an Emeritus Professor of English, is also an internationally recognized authority on Sri Lankan English literature. He was elected Fellow Commoner by Churchill College, University of Cambridge, and later Foundation Visiting Fellow by Clare Hall, University of Cambridge.

He was Henry Charles Chapman Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London, and Guest Professor of English at the University of Tubingen, Germany. He was the International Chairperson of the Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies (ACLALS) and Vice-President of the Federation Internationale des Languages et Literatures Modernes (FILLM).

His books include Developing Countries in British Fiction, Images of the Raj, Joseph Conrad: Beyond Culture and Background, and Salman Rushdie, all published by Palgrave Macmillan (London). He has edited Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness, Perspectives on Post-Colonial Literature, and anthologies of Sri Lankan literature. He has recently completed a study of Joseph Conrad for Routledge (London & New York).