Lakdhas Wikkramasinha

Across English and Sinhala, the volume offers a comprehensive selection of poems drawn from original manuscripts, many never reprinted before. The bilingual edition includes the original Sinhala texts alongside thoughtful English translations, inviting readers to hear the same lines in two linguistic voices and to trace how language shapes memory, power, and vision.

Readers experience a modernist lyric cadence—short, image-packed lines with rhythmic sharpness—shaped by influences from Sanskrit and Sinhalese traditions and global modernist figures. The collection spans the colonial era, its aftermath, and the postcolonial present, offering a rare window into an underrepresented anglophone tradition.

• Comprehensive selection of English-language poetry drawn from original manuscripts, many previously unavailable in print.
• Sinhala poetry represented with English translations; original Sinhala texts included in parallel.
• Side-by-side bilingual presentation invites close reading and cross-language discovery.
• Lyrical, rhythmically charged writing with imagistic compression; modernist influence from Lorca and Mandelstam.
• Thematic throughlines across colonial history, language, power, and cultural memory.
• Accessible to readers new to Sri Lankan anglophone poetry while offering depth for scholars.
• Edited by respected scholars, ensuring faithful representation and thoughtful context.

After finishing, readers gain a deeper understanding of a vital, multi-layered literary voice, an appreciation for bilingual poetry, and a broader view of Sri Lankan history and language. The collection leaves a lasting impression of poetry's power to connect cultures, sharpen political awareness, and enrich the imagination.