LatinosUSA

Juan Re Crivello – Do you think poetry is back in fashion?

Shirani Rajapakse – Poetry never went out of fashion. It’s the oldest form of creative expression anywhere in the world. People have been expressing themselves in verse for as long as we can remember. We may not see great epics like Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, Iliad, or even the Sandesha Kavya – messenger poems that were popular in Sri Lanka and India, but people are still writing verse in different forms and ways and using it to express ideas and opinions that sometimes can’t be expressed in other forms.

JRC- Is your poetry created daily, or do you wait to be inspired to write it?

Shirani Rajapakse – I tend to write only when I’m inspired. I find that forcing myself to sit down and write to a timetable every day is stifling. It takes away the creative focus and becomes just another mundane act. Of course once I have written a poem or group of poems I do return to them daily to edit and perfect them. However, the inspiration has to come first and the muse must be awake to receive and consider if it’s worth following through.  

JRC – What is your next publishing project? Could you tell us how it came about?

Shirani Rajapakse – I have a collection of short stories that I want to publish this year or the next. It’s been in the works for a while. Some stories were written as far back as 2015 while some were written a few months ago. A couple of the older stories were re-written as I felt they didn’t quite feel right and I wanted to change the approach and the plot a little.

JRC – What city do you live in, and can you describe your favorite bar or café?

Shirani Rajapakse – I live in Maharagama which is south of Colombo the capital of Sri Lanka. I don’t have a favorite bar or café as I rarely frequent them.

Sample Poem from The Way It Is

Who Can Say?

Shirani Rajapakse

tents, temporary shelters

doused out fires

empty bottles shrugged to the side

a pink blanket

left in a hurry

a little doll, piece of toy that once was

something beautiful,

medicines unused in a bottle

a torn piece of shirt stuck

on a branch

where

are you now?

where can I find you, little one?

where did they take you?

is it a better place as they said it

would be

or are you among the monsters

that paid for your flesh

unable to break free?

Note: This poem was written after I saw a news story about children lost at the Mexican USA border. 

Paperback

Kindle

Author Biography

Shirani Rajapakse writes poetry and short stories and is the author of eight books, including The Way It Is, her most recent poetry collection. Her publications have won three State Literary Awards, Sri Lanka, the Kindle Book Award, USA, the Boao International Poetry Award, China, two shortlists for the Gratiaen Prize, Sri Lanka and the Rubery Award, UK as well as several placements in awards. She publishes regularly in journals and anthologies worldwide.