P.B. Alwis Perera:

Self-taught poet

by Sajitha PREMATUNGE

He is among the best poets who represent the latter part of the Colombo era of Sinhala poetry. In fact he was one of its pioneers. Born on March 3, 1917, P.B Alwis Perera's life was difficult from the beginning. His father Jemis Perera, the sole breadwinner, was a lorry driver. Suffering for P.B Alwis Perera was nothing new and school proved no easier. He was educated only until the sixth grade. But this did not cause his determination to wane. He was an avid reader. The museum library and the Vajirarama library was among the retreats he frequented.

He has made contributions to many anthologies; including collections edited by him and news papers. Among his most famous collections are 'Ukdandu dunna', 'Budu Medura', 'Soba Dahama', 'Sanwadaya', 'Govi peramuna', 'Ape Hatana', 'Wedanawa', 'Lamayinge parapura', 'Dewlowa Giya Kammaliya', etc... It's interesting to note that although he was most famous as a poet, he was also an eloquent writer.

P.B. Alwis Perera was a wave maker. His undisguised lashing out at colonialism was refreshing and most followed in his footsteps. His book 'Wedanawa' (The pain) could not have come from a poet who was not immersed in the sufferings of the common. Here he condemns class discrimination with distinct understanding of political workings. A parallel can be drawn between the poem 'London' and 'Wedanawa', not to degrade on or the other, but both poems make use of the same subject matter, imagery and deal with the same theme. P.B Alwis Perera was a commoner in the true sense of the word. He possessed no degree to boast of and his university was the society.

Referring to his 'Ukdandu Dunna' Ariya Rajakaruna said that, through it, P.B Alwis Perera has been successful in establishing a whole new school with its rich imagery, subject matter, structure, themes, similes, metaphors and novel perspective of society. However this book was especially subject to much criticism, probably because poets at the time were not students of literature. This was before the era of universities and their only source of learning were books and their readers were the common people. These poets, in turn, understood the commoner because most of them made their debut through magazines and newspapers. Critics believed (Gavin Karunaratne) that he attempted to break away from the conventional form, although he makes use of old similes and metaphors.

But according to Martin Wickremasinghe, P.B Alwis Perera is the only poet who has been capable of moving the reader by expression of his experiences through the poem. And his only fault is that he has not pursued knowledge with fervour, unlike others. Martin Wickremasinghe saw him as a poet who attempted to experiment with the language.

Although he was not learned it was evident through such poems as 'Irunu Kodiya' that he was receptive to the influences of a larger world. Poetry born out of such influences is reflective of his political and sociological ideologies. His rich imagery is exemplified through his poem 'Chithraya' (The Painting).

Although some critics believe that he has not been successful in achieving rhyme, some argue that this is adequately compensated by the richness of meaning in his poetry.

His pessimistic overview explicit in his latter poems is a result of the hardships he had to face throughout life. How socio-economic forces affected society and human lives was among his themes of interest. Sadly most poems that made use of such themes never attracted much appreciation from critics. However he was merciless in his attacks on the forces that caused suffering for the commoner. His subject matter was the underdogs of society - children exploited in numerous ways, people suffering due to economic hardships and authorities and politicians who were the cause of social degradation. He was a revolutionist who voiced his opinion against social injustice through the poem. He had a broad political perspective and great respect for human life.