Book Launch :

Reflections in Loneliness

'Reflections in Loneliness, a Collection of Poems and Prose' by Chandana Ruwan Jayanetti, Senior Lecturer in English at the Galle Advanced Technological Institute-(ATI) of the Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education (SLIATE), will be launched at the Auditorium of 'Dakshinapaya', Southern Province Chief Ministry, Labuduwa, Galle, between 3.00-5.00 p.m. on Saturday, June 27.

The book contains 31 poems and five pieces of imaginative, thought provoking prose in 96 pages, with an introduction by Kamala Wijeratne, Senior poet and retired Chief Project Officer of the NIE, and a blurb by Dr. Lalith Ananda, Head, Department of English, University of Sri Jayawardenapura.

The poems are a collection written over a period of nearly 20 years by the writer, started while he was an undergraduate at university.

They are based on a range of themes such as childhood experiences, compassion on humans and animals, felicitation of the deserved, love and related experiences of youth, and the thirty-year old internal armed struggle that saw an end in 2009. To quote Kamala Wijeratne, "The themes of his poems, expressed with sincerity and empathy range from the personal to the global.

He picks out moments of poignancy like his mother's death, the death of his young friend who walked confidently and valiantly to the war front and his parting from his lover."

The prose, written recently, sees the author recreating the simple, unsophisticated country life of the 70s and 80s in the guise of a school going boy.

The essays bear the titles 'We Buy a Bicycle', 'Television Descends', 'The Village Goes to the Fair', 'Bathing Excursions', and 'Hingurakanda', which gives one an idea about the interesting content in them. Commenting on prose Wijeratne maintains, 'His prose needs special commendation, for the perception and understanding he shows of rural life of a by-gone era.

He writes with firsthand knowledge about a microcosmic world in which he grew up and goes into details, which are minute but deeply revealing of human nature. He demonstrates an insight into human weaknesses, which also reflects his sympathy- the counterparts- loyalties and goodnesses are also not lost sight of.'

Dr. Lalith Ananda commending on the work and the writer says, 'a unique showcasing of the talent and potential of a young writer who has crafted his work in an elegant syntax and a compelling style offering a lasting impression about life and existence."

The cover has been designed by Prasad Nanayakkara, with the illustrations/thematic pictures drawn by Anuradha Dikovita, a student of the writer following the Higher National Diploma in English-HNDE at the Galle ATI. The book has been printed by Tharanjee Prints, Maharagama.

Professor Rajiva Wijesinha will be the Chief Guest at the launch, and the book review will be made by Mihiri Jansz, Lecturer at the Post Graduate Institute of English-PGIE, Open University of Sri Lanka. Dr. Hemamala Ratwatte, Director, PGIE, OUSL and Dr. Lalith Ananda of USJP will be Special Guests.