The Land of Serendipity
From Ottawa-Orleans *the
now* *EMC, July 11, 2008*
BY ANIL JHALLI
*Beacon Hill** resident publishes latest poetry collection*
Ever since he was a child growing up in Sri Lanka, Beacon Hill resident
Asoka Weerasinghe has been writing poetry. Anything that came to mind,
he would jot down, and create a story.
His latest book of poetry – which is his 16^th poetry compilation
– is his most personal yet.
After a visit to his homeland last year, Weerasinghe decided to pay
tribute to Sri Lanka.
His latest work, */The Land of Serendipity/* showcases 35 original
poems from the local poet, which stem from growing up in Sri Lanka,
and rediscovering his roots.
“Everytime I go back, I find out some new things and I just write
them down,” he said. “I was 19 when I left home, and I didn’t
really see much because I was a student and busy with school.”
Just last month, Weerasinghe went back home, and held a book launch
in a packed theatre owned by a friend of his. Needless to say, the response
was a little over-whelming.
“It was an awesome experience,” he said. “Just being
able to be around so many people and read some poems from the book.
It was great.”
He moved to England in 1956, and while he continued his studies there,
his poetry helped him get through his hectic schedule.
Consistently writing poetry was never something he thought about, until
friends of his read his poems, and told him they were that good enough
to be published.
The rest is history, and today, Weerasinghe is an award winning poet
whose poems have been published all over the world, including Germany,
Sweden, India and Canada.
“When I had a few of my first poems published, I said to myself,
if poetry magazines are publishing them so they must be good so I kept
writing”, he said, with a chuckle.
Weerasinghe has also been the recipient of numerous awards, including
the Welsh University Eisteddford Poetry Award, the Sri Lanka State Literary
Award and an Appreciation Honour Award for Arts and Culture from the
City of Ottawa, just to name a few.
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