By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya
The much-awaited Gratiaen Prize 2021 shortlist announcement was made on Monday (23), with Uvini Atukorale, Ashok Ferry, Ciara Mandulee Mendis, and Rizvina Morseth de Alwis making the list.
A Place Called Home by Uvini Atukorale was shortlisted for its remarkable ability to imagine a vivid storyline out of the mundane and depict the lives of a diverse cast of characters and for stories which tell of Sri Lankans from all cultures and walks of life through the lens of their relationships and their displacement from home.
For technical and linguistic brilliance, vivid characterisations of authentic and unforgettable characters, the capturing of multiple locations and the instantly recognisable depictions of 1980s London and Colombo, the seamless integration of the ordinary with the bizarre, nuanced telling of a story of complicated grief and of coming of age with tenderness and humour, and its scope of ambition, The Unmarriageable Man by Ashok Ferry was also shortlisted for the prize.
The jury selected The Lanka Box by Ciara Mandulee Mendis for capturing with depth and poignancy the world of the young in Sri Lanka with the clear eye perspective of the youth of today, dialogue, and language which so cleverly captures the unique way Sri Lankans talk and think, the adept use of laugh-out-loud humour, and vivid descriptions of experiences which are self-consciously Sri Lankan.
Talking to the Sky by Rizvina Morseth de Alwis was shortlisted for excellence in combining the political and personal in complex, subtle ways and grappling in human terms the pressing issues around islamophobia and the Muslim community in Sri Lanka told through the vivid dual voices of mother and daughter, and the skilful manner in which suspense is maintained until the last minute through a non-linear progression of the plot.
While the winner of the Gratiaen Prize 2021 will be announced next month, this year’s judges are Shyam Selvadurai, Maduranga Kalugampitiya, and Keshini Jayawardena.
The shortlist announcement was made at the British Council Library, the traditional home for the shortlist announcement. The event was hosted by Purnima Pilapitiya.
The Gratiaen Trust
The Gratiaen Trust was founded in 1992 by Michael Ondaatje with the money he won for the Booker Prize for The English Patient. The mandate of the trust is to recognise and promote creative writing in English by Sri Lankan writers in the country.
“He also founded a prize for translation called the H.A.I. Goonetileke Prize. The prize recognises the best work in translation from Sinhala and Tamil into English and is awarded every two years,” Gratiaen Trust Secretary Nafeesa Amiruddeen said.
Speaking about the role played by the Gratiaen Prize, Amiruddeen said it has gained enormous credibility over the years, with all nominations and winners finding that it gives them a platform from which they can boost their careers. “They can be published and they can be read widely, both nationally and internationally,” she added.
According to Amiruddeen, the Gratiaen Trust held three events in the past year. The first was an online workshop for young people between the ages 14 and 17, in celebration of Children’s Day.
“We chose 30 participants to be mentored by three Gratiaen Prize winners. The other two were in-person events, one of which was Stories at Sunset. The third event was the Trust participation at Adahas Pola. We had the Gratiaen Chatroom and Conversations with Gratiaen Writers,” she went on to say.
According to Gratiaen Trustee Tera Jayewardene, the Trust plans on involving more young people and will be organising a poetry open mic on 28 May.
“What is really special about the event is that, instead of it being an event where you have somebody performing poetry and a lot of people watching them, this event is going to be more collaborative with every single participant reading out their original poetry and at the end, everyone would discuss it,” Jayewardene said.
She also touched on the Gratiaen Trust Young Writers’ Club, where young writers will meet every month to discuss their ideas and network with each other.
Panel with the Gratiaen Prize longlist
Prior to the shortlist announcement was a panel discussion moderated by Thavini Nanayakkara, where five of the seven authors selected for the longlist shared their thoughts on awards, creative expression, and writing styles.
When asked if awards matter, Ashok Ferry, who was shortlisted for An Unmarriageable Man, said: “I think you want me to say they don’t matter. I think that’s what we would all like to imagine. But, I think, if one were really serious, they do matter, because it’s a question of personal validation.”
He added that this gives another dimension to one’s work.
Longlisted for Pictures I Couldn’t Take, Vivimarie Vanderpoorten won the Gratiaen Prize in 2007 for Nothing Prepares You. She says the previous win does put some pressure on her.
“People then start to judge anything you put out after that by the standard of that first book. When I published my second book in 2010, three years later, a lot of people said it wasn’t as good as the first and some said they liked it better. So it gives you that idea of people comparing your work,” Vanderpoorten said.
However, she added that the award was an enormous encouragement.
In terms of critics, Ciara Mandulee Mendis, who was shortlisted for The Lanka Box, said that all that matters is that you write what you want. “When it comes to a work of art, that’s creative expression. It comes from somebody and I don’t think you would put out your work and let it be seen by other people if you are not happy with it. I don’t know if we can judge people and their work like that,” she said.
Uvini Atukorala, shortlisted for A Place Called Home, spoke about writing styles, saying it boils down to the writer’s voice that comes across in their work. She didn’t think one could intentionally change this voice.
“Each of us has a style, whether it be writing short stories, writing a novel or writing poetry, be what it may be. I think there’s a style that comes with time. As you start writing, you get your own style, and as long as you are comfortable with that style and as long as someone else can read it and understand it, I think that’s fine,” Atukorala said.
Rizvina Morseth de Alwis, shortlisted for Talking to the Sky, also spoke at the panel, saying: “On the question of whether writers should mirror society, I think it depends on the writer. In my case, for me, writing has always been an introspective exercise.”
She added that she has been writing for a long time, but that it was only much later in life that she had the courage to share her work with a larger audience.