‘There is no such thing as poetic form’

Compiled by Sajitha PREMATUNGA

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35, D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha, Colombo 10.

He went to S. Thomas’ Prep and the Wycherley. But the acute travel bug he was suffering from didn’t allow him to stay put and he ended up in London, studied English Literature at King’s College and returned to Sri Lanka to work in the media. He worked as a journalist and as a DJ, “Which meant getting up every morning at 4 a.m. - yuck!” says he. In addition, he was also a writer and presenter. And eventually the editor of ‘Serendipity’ magazine, which, in fact - he claims - arose out of a real passion about bringing new Sri Lankan literature to a wider audience.

It is indeed very rare for a literary personality to become equally competent in writing poetry as well as short stories. And reading ‘China Bay Blues’ I’ve realized that Afdhel Aziz is one of them. Although he admits that he does not publish as often as he wants to, the few dozen poems he had written was good enough to land him a Gratiaen, in the category of poetry in 2003. “Sometimes I look at where I am and I think, ‘I’m just a kid who grew up in Wellawatte, how did this happen?’” Well, ‘Sunday Observer’ was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Q: How did you get into writing?

A: As a child I was obsessed with books. I used to spend an entire day in library when I was a child. My mother would drop me off in the morning and pick me up in the evening - I even used her library card, so I could borrow, double the number of books! I would never go anywhere without a book in hand when I was a kid. Every dinner or function, if I get bored I’d disappear upstairs and my parents would find me buried with my head in a book. I mastered the art of reading in cars.

I even mastered the art of reading while walking down the street but that got a bit dangerous after a while!So it wasn’t a huge jump to start writing - all those words going into me, something had to come out! I started writing short stories at first. I remember the first time something of mine was printed, in the now defunct Sun newspaper, I think it was. There’s nothing quite like seeing your name in print!

I remember writing very dark short stories when I was a kid, inspired by Stephen King and Rhold Dahl. Everybody always died at the end! I think my parents were quite worried. Stories about cinemas, where the things on the screen came to life, killer clowns, evil alien insects....I was seriously disturbed as a child!

Q: What inspired your writing before and now?

A: I think I like things that move you. There are fewer and fewer things in the world that lead to you having a strong reaction - whether that’s something that makes you laugh, cry or think. I think I’d like to write things which have the ability to do all or some of that.In ‘China Bay Blues’ I wrote a lot about Sri Lanka. It’s such a deeply sensuous, beautiful, magical place...though I think if you live in Sri Lanka; you just tend to see only the everyday struggles and strife, the inflation, the corruption, the violence.

But I think we’re lucky to have a place where you can escape all of that and go to the mountains, the beaches, the forests, the ancient cities....places where you can re-charge your batteries, find your sense of peace, your sense of place. So in poems like ‘Trincomalee Road’ or ‘Quartet/Galle’ , I like to write about those hidden spaces of Sri Lanka....those places you stumble across by accident, serendipitously’.

Q: What themes and subject matter do you deal with in your writing?

A: I think I have a very sentimental streak - so I think love is a very big theme I write about. Maybe because it’s the defining theme of the 20th century (and most likely the 21st) - every book, song, film is about love.

And I don’t think you can ever get tired of exploring it...that’s why half of ‘China Bay Blues’ is lyrical love poetry, that explores the arc of a relationship between two people...how you start with fireworks at the beginning, such excitement and passion....and how that deepens into something stronger and more peaceful...not without a fair share of dark days along the way.

Love isn’t love unless it is coloured by some shadows. I think there is a sense of darkness in what I write. Not depressingly so, but....its like in jazz, when you get a ‘blue note’, when there is just that hint of sadness and melancholy. That’s sometimes what I see in the stuff I write.

Q: Say something about your novel you are working on, ‘Strange Fruit’?

A: It’s a work in progress at the moment. I’m finding it a challenging process, but one that I am really committed to. It’s a ‘road movie’ in the form of a book - a journey by five friends through Sri Lanka in the ’90s, with the background of war and violence.

Q: Are all your poems born of personal experience?

A: Yes. Sometimes deeply personal. I think that if you are lucky, there’s a strange alchemy that happens which allows you to take personal experience and somehow transform them into words. I think especially the poems about relationships, about love...love is such an important thing. But capturing a personal perspective about it, something genuine and rare and not manufactured by a team of writers or marketers - that’s important to me.

Q: How important is experimenting (with language) for a poet?

A: Very. It takes a while to find the right voice and until you do, you have to be prepared to try on and discard a range of different styles. The important thing is finding something which is truly your own.

Q: Do you think conforming to poetic form is a must for a poet’s success?

A: Absolutely not. To begin with, I’d argue that there’s no such thing as ‘poetic form’ - one man’s form is another man’s cage. Try comparing Shakespeare to rappers like Jay-Z or Nas - they have very different forms but I’d argue that they are all poets.

Q: Can you describe your experience of Black July?

A: I address it in the poem ‘1983’ because I think it was a pivotal moment for a lot of people of my generation in Sri Lanka - kind of like our Twin Towers, all those years ago. I was living in Wellawatte at the time, and I remember the riots vividly, they left an indelible mark in my brain. The burning, the looting, neighbours hiding in the back of our house...I was ten years old at the time. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.

Q: Does meditation in Chelsea reflect your own emotions as an expat?

A: Yes. The poem is really about how people from the East struggle in the West - the cold, the grey, the gloom; it’s all very soul-sapping. I tell people moving to London that it takes three winters to make you a Londoner - if you can last that long, then you have mastered what it takes to stay!

Q: Do you think expats are able to realistically and convincingly portray Sri Lankan culture, being expats?

A: I think that sometimes a foreign eye being trained on a particular culture reveals things that even people who are born and brought up in that culture can’t see. One of the best books I ever read on the ethnic conflict was ‘Only Man is Vile:

The Tragedy of Sri Lanka’ by a journalist called William McGowan. For me at least, that was the first book that explained the roots of the problems that beset Sri Lanka without taking sides or pushing an agenda. On the other hand, I think that some of the nuances of a culture can only be brought out by those who are immersed in it.

For example, at the moment with my writing, I’m working hard on trying to capture the ‘Sri Lankan English’ that we speak in Sri Lanka - all the ‘machangs’ and ‘what men’s’ and ‘mara buggers’ that are the normal way of speaking. It’s such a rich and colourful vernacular that it deserves to be captured in all its humour and honesty.

Q: Is your poetry driven by a need to cater to the international community by writing what the international community expects of an expatriate?

A: Not really. When I wrote most of the poems I was living in Sri Lanka and I didn’t have any inkling that I was going to end up publishing them. It just so happens that I now live outside of Sri Lanka and am an expatriate myself.

But the feedback I’ve received is that the poems seem to be universally appealing - people from all walks of life have responded very warmly to them. And here’s a strange thing - no two people have ever told me that they like the same poem.

Everyone has a story in them. Sometimes that story comes out in the form of a short story, a poem, or even a book. And I always try and encourage everybody who wants to write, to get out there and do it.

Writing a book, story or something that just outlasts your existence on earth.....there’s something profoundly satisfying about it.‘China Bay Blues’ is available at Barefoot, Vijitha Yapa and all leading bookstores. It’s also available online from http://www.amazon.co.uk/ and www.amazon.co.uk

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Here’s a list of books that I’d recommend to anyone wishing to explore different styles of poetry:

Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes - 88 poems written to his wife Sylvia Plath (also a poet, you should also check out The Bell Jar ) who committed suicide. Intimate and candid, they shape the arc of a relationship in all its tragedies and glories.

Complete Poems by Dorothy Parker - One of the sassy poets of the 20th century, she was known for her barbed wit and caustic observations. Brutal but hilarious.

Selected Poems by Langston Hughes - One of the most famous Black American poets of the Harlem Renaissance, his language is wonderful, full of the rhythms of jazz, blues, gospel music.

Residence on Earth by Pablo Neruda - My all time favourite poet, writes simple verses that are also rich in imagery and symbolism.

Against Eternity and Darkness by Anne Ranasinghe - My favourite Sri Lankan poet - Her works deserve to be taught in all Sri Lankan schools - she made a lasting impression on me.

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