Foreword
By Prof. Suresh Canagarajah
Why would a person from a small island in the geopolitical periphery
write in the English language?
Why would he choose to sacrifice the millions of people
he can communicate to in the local language?
The simple reason is
a burning desire to communicate to the rest of the world
the thoughts and feelings of himself and his community.
Another reason could be the detachment the second language
gives from the immediacy of painful personal experience.
Yet another reason is the indirectness and obliqueness
to mask radical ideas and present them in harmless ways.
This book of poems narrates experiences we should all experience.
We see people and soldiers caught in the ethnic conflict,
aid agencies and the homeless facing the Tsunami,
teachers and students grappling with intellectual dependency.
The poet records voices the rest of the world should hear.
Voices of insight from poor people,
deception from local media,
condescension from foreign charities,
terror from militia and authorities.
Suresh Canagarajah
Professor, English
City University of New York.
April 30th 2006.
