Literature

An evening of English Poetry

The British Council had an evening of English Poetry in memory of Rex Baker, Representative from 1984 to 1990 on Tuesday, (January 12). 'Poets and their Visions, a collection of essays by Prof Rajiva on English poetry, published by Godage and Sons, was also launched on this occasion.

The highlight of the evening was readings of the poetry in the collection by Ranmali Mirchandani and Rohan Ponniah. Such readings had been a common feature among British Council activities when Rex Baker was representative, in the days before multiple television and radio stations. The poems were arranged under four themes, 'Love', 'Love and Death', 'Laughter and Tears' and 'Transitions'. Old favourites from Shakespeare figured prominently in the programme, with Rohan and Ranmali capturing vividly both the romance of Romeo and Juliet, and the tragic fate of Othello and Desdemona. Shelley's Elegy on Keats contrasted with Byron's mocking of a ruler aiming at immortality; Hardy's grief for his dead wife provided a pendant to Housman's celebration of an athlete dying young.

The audience relished the humour of Gibert's account of the British House of Lords and Edward Lear's description of his aged Uncle Arly. But there was also stress on nostalgia, including, in the introduction by Prof Wijesinha, the opening of Eliot's 'Waste Land' with its evocation of the lost world of pre First World War Europe; Auden's brooding lines at the opening of the Second World War; then Kipling's celebration of the lost Road through the Woods, and finally what I have often thought of as the saddest poem in the language, Mathew Arnold's 'Dover Beach', the world seen as a darkling plane, where ignorant armies clash by night.'

British Council Director in welcoming the guests noted the fact that both Prof Wijesinha and Ranmali Mirchandani had worked in the Arts for the British Council in the past, and referred to the Council's tradition of promoting English Literature. Prof Wijesinha spoke about Rex Baker and his immense contribution, to Education and Science and Technology as well as the written and the performing arts. The event was graced by the presence of the publisher, Godage, and also the doyenne of English dons, Prof Lakshmi de Silva of the University of Kelaniya, who had been present at the original poetry readings arranged by the Council in the eighties.