We would like to inform you that there has been a rescheduling of the following event that was set to take place from 6pm – 7pm will now taking place from 5pm – 6pm at The Fort Printers on the corner of Pedlar and Church Street.
The Colombo Gin Club makes its way to the Fairway Galle Literary Festival 2018! Join veteran gin enthusiast Graham Merricks from Wine World as he explores 4 absolutely lip smacking gins.
(Graham Merricks’ participation at the festival is courtesy of Wine World.)
Mark Twain, describing the journey that would take him to Australia, famously said that truth is stranger than fiction. Richard Flanagan goes one step further and says “Fiction is not a lie but a truth, a necessary truth . . . Without fiction, we poison ourselves on the lies of the first person . . . For if story as lies leads us to a dark place, story as fiction offers the possibility of transcendence and liberation, the recognition of the many things each of us are.”
Richard Flanagan began his most recent novel First Person before he won the 2014 Man Booker Prize for The Narrow Road to The Deep North. In conversation with fellow Australian Chris Hanley, Founder of the Byron Bay Literary Festival, Richard will share with us the extraordinary story of how he came to write First Person and arising from that, his views on the writing experience and in particular, on the relationship between self and creation.
(Richard Flanagan’spresence at the Festival is made possible by the generous sponsorship of the Festival title sponsor Fairway Holdings Ltd.)
In this, the Final Festival session for 2018, Pankaj Mishra, one of the foremost intellectuals of the day and acclaimed writer of the 2017 publication Age of Anger: A History of the Present, will discuss the future of Asia through the lens of the past with Nisid Hajari, foreign affairs analyst and author of Midnight’s Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India’s Partition.
(Pankaj Mishra’sparticipation in the Festival is made possible by the generous sponsorship of DFCC Bank.)
Event: Street food, Cocktails, Jazz and Fashion Show
Participant: Jerome & Tanuja with other Local and International Artists
Location: Law Court Square, Galle Fort
Duration: 6:00 hrs
Access:FREE EVENT
Availability: N/A
The Fairway Galle Literary Festival 2018 will wrap up on Sunday afternoon with a celebration of jazz in the Law Court Square. We will have favourite locals, including Jerome and Tanuja, as well as international artists performing. The afternoon will also feature a fashion show, great street food, wine, beer and cocktails.
Sunday, Jan 28th 2018
7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Chariots of Fire (1981): A Screening
Event: Film Screening
Location: Law Court Square, Galle Fort
Duration: 1:30 hrs
Access: FREE EVENT
Availability: N/A
This film was the brain-child of The Lord David Puttnam and depicts the compelling story of two young men determined to be true to themselves in the class-obsessed and religiously divided United Kingdom of the early 1920s. Each of these two young men is preparing to take part in the 1924 Paris Olympics, the first Olympics to take place after the long interval during which the First World War precluded the event. Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), a devout Christian born to Scottish missionaries in China, sees running as part of his worship of God’s glory and refuses to train or compete on the Sabbath, even when the Olympic timetable calls for him to do so. Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) overcomes anti-Semitism and class bias, but neglects his beloved sweetheart Sybil (Alice Krige) and antagonises the Fellows of his Cambridge College in his single-minded quest. Ultimately the two men’s single-mindedness paradoxically works in tandem, enabling each to emerge from the Olympics having met the demands both of country and conscience.
The Vengalis sound track for this film – with its inspiring classical feel and yet anachronistic electronic elements, perfectly captures the transitional moment in history at which this film takes place, and is still widely recognised.
This Day Pass gives you access to 11 literary events taking place on Day 3 (Friday, January 26th 2017). Purchase your voucher online and redeem your pass at the Galle Box Box Office.
“A sadder and a wiser man/He rose the morrow morn”.
In this fascinating foray through Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s famous cautionary tale, the Reverend Dr. Malcolm Guite – poet, scholar and priest – will ask the question of what we might learn in 2018 – two hundred years after Coleridge first published the poem under his own name – from this rollicking tale of man’s selfish and unthinking exploitation of his natural surroundings. Must wisdom bring sadness? And what may we learn about the acts of writing and storytelling, from the nature of the Mariner’s act of penance?
Books such as Sebastian Faulks’ famous trilogy The Girl at the Lion D’Or, Birdsong and Charlotte Gray have very considerably helped to ensure that the sacrifices of soldiers in the two world wars have not gone unremembered.
However, as historian Shrabani Basu points out in her 2015 publication For King and Another Country; Indian Soldiers on the Western Front 2014-2018, fictional and historical representations of these conflicts have rarely drawn attention to the contribution and sacrifices of the more than one million Indian soldiers who fought in World War I – the largest force from the colonies and dominions.
For King and Another Country describes the Great War through the eyes of these soldiers – many illiterate young men from remote villages who distinguished themselves with acts of great bravery. In the process she leads us to see how the War changed India and set in motion a process that would lead, ultimately, to Independence.
(Shrabani Basu’sparticipation in the Festival is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Jetwing Hotels.)
(Sebastian Faulks’participation in the Festival is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Sri Lanka Telecom.)
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” We were all asked this question many times during our childhood. How many of those enquiring after hopes and dreams were actually listening to children’s responses and helping them achieve these aspirations?
In these short films, young Sri Lankan filmmakers deal with the issues of stolen childhood; exploring how family and society deny children of their aspirations.
Friday, Jan 26th 2018
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm
The Edward Lear Prize for Poetry Award Ceremony
Participant: Poets
Location: Owl and the Pussy Cat Hotel, Thalpe
Duration: 1:30 hrs
Access: Free Booked Passes
Availability: 58 seats.
The Edward Lear Prize for Poetry will be given to a young poet from Sri Lanka between the ages of 18 and 30. The founders of this prize, Reita Gadkari and Shane Thantirimudalige, hope this prize, named after Edward Lear, a well-known poet, will encourage up-and-coming poets to showcase their talents and will give them recognition in the field of poetry.
Sponsored by Owl and the Pussycat Hotel.
Friday, Jan 26th 2018
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Maylis de Kerangal & Ashok Ferrey: Bury the Dead and Mend the Living
In this session, two writers whose work profoundly addresses the complications of being alive – a condition we can only mend, not ultimately repair – share their experiences writing of life, labour and the heart.
For both writers, language is paramount; Maylis writes in French and Ashok in English, but the work of each has been translated into the other’s language.
To what extent, the session will ask, is it possible to render experiences originally shared in the language of one’s heart, in that of another?
The title of Maylis’ novel comes from Chekhov’s Platanov: “Bury the dead and mend the living” so that it originates in the Russian, thus adding another complication to this linguistic conundrum. Ultimately, both readers eschew the potential limitations of translation with an economy of prose that goes straight to the heart of what it means to be a human being.
(Maylis de Kerangal’s presence at the Festival is made possible by the generous sponsorship of the Alliance Française de Kotte. Her travel is sponsored by Jet Airways.)
In this workshop, Sonnet Mondal will discuss with participants what it means to write poetry, and will work closely with each participant on perfecting his or her individual style and voice.
In this solo presentation, Shrabani Basu, historian, journalist and author, will share with us the journey that led to the writing of her non-fiction work, Victoria and Abdul; The True Story of The Queen’s Closest Confidant.
The story has now been rendered a major motion picture with Dame Judi Dench in the eponymous role. Yet for over a hundred years it remained unknown, much of the evidence of the close relationship between the Queen and her munshi (teacher) as she styled Abdul, having been destroyed on her death by her son and heir King Edward.
Using the evidence of art displayed at Osborne House, in Queen Victoria’s long unopened Hindustani Journals and in letters sent by Queen Victoria to Abdul when he was on leave of absence in India, Shrabani has pieced together an extraordinary and meticulously documented account of this fascinating friendship.
(Shrabani Basu’sparticipation in the Festival is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Jetwing Hotels.)
This panel features four writers who have contributed substantially to the work of sharing literatures of one linguistic tradition with those from others.
Bruce Wannell has translated extensively from Parsi – his work has by extension been an important part of the work of William Dalrymple, for whom he has been a long-time translator.
Michael Kumpfmüller novel “The Glory of Life” has been translated into 25 languages and thus enjoyed worldwide exposure, so that a wide audience might share this beautiful narrative.
Laurence Boissier’s work exists in translation and she also performs spoken word poetry in dialect.
Nalin Ranasinghe is an academic who shares the works of the classics with students by virtue of translation. What are the challenges of translation? What gets lost? What is gained?
(Laurence Boissier’s travel to and presence at the Festival is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council and the Embassy of Switzerland to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.)
(Michael Kumpfmüller’s travel to and presence at the Festival is made possible by the generous sponsorship of the Goethe-Institut.)
(Bruce Wannell’s participation in the Festival is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Sri Lanka Tourism and Promotions Bureau.)
This workshop is aimed at those with an interest in the intersection of memory, restoration and transformation.
The facilitators of this workshop both have extensive experience as curators of exhibitions aimed at preserving physical spaces with complicated histories and psychological, emotional and spiritual resonance.
Those attending the workshop will learn about the ways in which archivists and curators of physical objects may use their curatorial skills to ensure that the past may both inform and transform the present.
(Calvyn Gilfellan’s travel to the Festival is courtesy of the South African High Commission in Sri Lanka.)
EVENT TICKET: Rs. 3,000
Friday, Jan 26 2018
3:45 PM – 5:00 PM
Siddharth Dasgupta & Sonnet Mondal: Lipton Tea and Poetry
Event: Lipton Tea and Poetry with refreshments by Chef Charles Disa
Two contemporary poets whose work has been widely and well received will share their poetry. Afternoon Tea will be provided by the generous sponsorship of Lipton, with refreshments provided by celebrated Chef Charles Disa.
(Charles Disa’s participation in the Festival is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Unilever Foods.)
EVENT TICKET: Rs. 3,500
Friday, Jan 26th 2018
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Kushanava Choudhury: The Epic City – The world on the Streets of Calcutta
What is Calcutta? Macaulay thought it “a place of mists, alligators and wild boars”. Kipling saw it as a city of dreadful night and “one of the most wicked places in the universe”.
Depending on which European prognosticator one reads it’s a black hole, a leprous pit, a basket case, a marxist junk space. Writing in 1903, Lord Curzon at least spurned such millenarian metaphors only to succumb to imperial self-adulation: “Calcutta is in reality a European city set down upon Asiatic soil, and it is a monument – in my opinion one of the most striking extant monuments, for it is the second city to London in the entire British Empire – to the energy and achievements of our race.” – (Sukhdev Sandhu)
When Kushanava Choudhury returned to Calcutta after graduating from Princeton, he found himself in a world his immigrant parents had abandoned, in a city built between a river and a swamp, where the moisture-drenched air swarms with mosquitos after sundown.
Once the capital of the British Raj, it was subsequently India’s industrial and cultural hub. But by 2001 Calcutta was clearly past its prime. Choudhury’s return mystified his relatives, who wondered why he hadn’t moved to Delhi, Bombay or Bangalore, where consumption was conspicuous and a life of material wealth seemed assured.
“The Epic City” is in many ways the writer’s answer to that question: a soulful, compelling portrait of the fifteen million people who still live in Calcutta, the work is a beautifully written testimony to the everyday life in Calcutta – to the shouting hawkers who overrun the footpaths, the fish-sellers squatted on bazaar floors, the politics of barricades and bus burnings and the Communist ministers who travel in motorcades. Written with humanity, wit and insight, The Epic City is an unforgettable portrait of an era, and of a city which is a world unto itself.
“A wonderful, beautifully written and even more beautifully observed love letter to Calcutta’s greatness . . . The Epic City clearly marks the arrival of a new star”. William Dalrymple, Observer
(Kushanava Choudhury’s participation in the Festival is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Sri Lanka Tourism and Promotions Bureau.)
Two hundred years after the death of Jane Austen, Laaleen Sukhera, Founder of the Jane Austen Society of Pakistan, edited a collection of short stories written by women who have lived in Pakistani society, after the style of the great detective and chronicler of human nature, Jane Austen.
The title of the volume, Austenistan, means ‘The land of Austen’ and Laaleen sees modern Pakistan as just that – a world operating very much in the style of the Regency England in which Jane Austen lived and wrote.
Laaleen is joined on the panel by one of the contributors to Austenistan, Gayathri Warnasuriya, a Sri Lankan health scientist presently living and working in Amman.
The session will begin with a performance-reading by Mr. Adrian Lukis and Ms. Caroline Langrishe, as they bring to life a number of Jane Austen’s most memorable characters.
Performing duologues from Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, these veteran actors explore Miss Austen’s world, from the duplicity of Wickham, to the heartfelt passion of Wentworth and Anne.
The performance will also include the delightful passage from former Festival Curator, Shyam Selvadurai’s novel Cinnamon Gardens that refers to Pride and Prejudice, by way of illustrating Sri Lanka’s own Austen legacy.
“Like Helen Macdonald’s H is for Hawk, and Richard Mabey’s Nature Cure before it, Katharine Norbury’s The Fish Ladder is at heart an examination of the consoling effect of the natural world on human grief and torment”. With these opening lines of her Guardian review of Katharine Norbury’s beautiful memoir/travelogue The Fish Ladder, Rachel Cooke draws attention to one of the things Katharine Norbury does so beautifully for her reader by drawing attention, “her eye feasting on the landscape’ to the redemptive and instructional qualities of the natural world.
The Reverend Malcolm Guite’s fascinating study of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s wonderful cautionary tale “The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner” draws heavily and fruitfully on the landscape of the West Country. Coleridge lived in Nether Stowey and Watchet is most likely the setting of his famous narrative poem. Coleridge’s poem is clearly meant to change the way we view the world, and the natural world is central to that process.
(Katharine Norbury’s participation in the Festival is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Sri Lanka Tourism and Promotions Bureau.)
For the third year, Fairway Holdings presents the Fairway National Literary Awards in all three national languages at this glittering event. Join Fairway and the Festival to celebrate Sri Lankan literature through the country’s richest literary prize, which bring exposure to not just the shortlisted writers, but to Sri Lankan Literature in general.
This panel brings together two Indian writers who live both in India and in the USA and invites them to explore the notion of identity explored in their work.
Kushanava’s Calcutta; the Epic City has been described by William Dalrymple as a ‘love-letter’ to Calcutta; Sanga has been described as having ‘a jeweller’s eye for detail” which she uses to bring to life the connections between people and place. Both writers invite us to view place both as tourist and dweller.
(Kushanava Choudhury’s participation in the Festival is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Sri Lanka Tourism and Promotions Bureau.)
EVENT TICKET: Rs. 1,000
Friday, Jan 26th 2018
6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Michael Roc Thomas: A Tour de Force of Magical Verse
Michael Roc-Thomas will read from and speak about his new collection of tales told in verse. ‘Seeing Better Now’ comprises fifty-six tales told in verse. Each is beautifully illustrated in full colour by two of Sri Lanka’s finest artists.
Many of the stories are humorous, others doleful or bittersweet; yet others ask powerful questions and will make the reader think. All have genuine charm and originality. Poetry? No, much more fun!
Join us on an Adventure of Arrack! Author Michelle Gunawardana’s “The Adventure of Arrack” is the first Sri Lankan book to receive a prestigious Gourmand Award, when it won first place in the spirits category at the Gourmand Awards held in Yantai, China in May, 2016.
Learn all about Arrack over cocktails made with Ceylon Arrack hosted at Bomu, the rooftop bar at Amari Galle.
(Minoli Ratnayake is brought to the festival courtesy of Wine World.)
Between courses, film clips of the recently released film of her groundbreaking study Victoria and Abdul will be shown, and Shrabani will answer questions about the book …
… and the film.
(Shrabani Basu’sparticipation in the Festival is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Jetwing Hotels.)
