Showcasing a dynamic English Dept through its own lit festival
The Department of English at the University of Colombo is hosting a festival of Sri Lankan English language and literature at the university premises on June 20-21.
“We have a wide range of expertise in different fields of Sri Lankan English language and literature within the department,” begins Neluka Silva who conceptualised the festival. “We have specialists in linguistics, translation, drama, creative writing, literature, cultural studies. And I think a lot of the time, people don’t really know how good the department of English (at Colombo) is, and what kind of fantastic work my colleagues do.”
The team behind the concept of 'Reid Chats': From left, Ravihari Ravendra Kumar, Ruhanie Perera, Neluka Silva and Rasudula Dissanayake. Pic by Indika Handuwala
While the event was conceptualised by the staff of the Department of English, they stress that the actual planning and implementation is being led almost entirely by the students. “It was important for us to make sure that the students (took) ownership of the festival, in the hope that it continues…as an annual Department of English thing,” says Rasudula Dissanayake, a lecturer at the department and one of the organisers of the event. “And because it’s a student-centred platform, most of the sessions are organised with that in mind – we wanted to have sessions that the students would be interested to be a part of.”
“And it’s wonderful!” enthuses Neluka. “They’ve got really good ideas and they are really invested and they’re telling us what to do and how it should be done. They’re very much the driving force.”
As the name ‘Reid Chats’ indicates, the event is built on the idea of “creating many informal conversations that are accessible and also aimed at building different kinds of community,” Ruhanie Perera, a senior lecturer at the department explains. Private and government universities as well as schools have been officially invited to participate in the event, and anyone with a valid student ID can register for the event for free. “We are thinking about what we can offer as a university and a Department of English… and we also want to build this connection between literature as it is studied in school and literature as it is studied in a university context.”
The festival spans two days and opens on Friday, June 20, with a panel discussion, “Aiyo what is this Sri Lankan English, men?” which the event poster promises will be a “spirited exchange” between Dinali Fernando, Mahendran Thiruvarangan and Michael Meyler.
“Sri Lankan English as a variety is studied in universities, and it’s something that’s also deeply contested and problematic,” Ruhanie explains. “And I think opening that conversation up to a public audience will be interesting.” Opening day will also include a student-exclusive creative writing workshop with Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe and the presentation of two short films by Anomaa Rajakaruna.
Day two, Saturday, June 21 opens with a memory walk around the University of Colombo with the Head of the Department of History, Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri, followed by a conversation with Sumathy Sivamohan on ‘The poetics and politics of translation’. Children and parents are invited to join a lunch-time conversation on storytelling with children’s authors Neluka Silva and Nadishka Aloysius where participants will then workshop their own creations.
In the afternoon of the same day, Dushyanthi Mendis will converse with Vivimarie Vanderpoorten on her journey as a poet, and the author will also read from her most recent (unpublished) work. In this session the organizers hope to open up conversations around bridging gaps between A-level studies in English language and literature, and the undergraduate experience.
Reid Chats will close on Saturday evening with a free-for-all open mic session ‘Reid Aloud’ where, 2025 Gratiaen winner Savin Edirisinghe will read from his work “Kata Katha: Gossip, Rumours and Idle Talk”. The event will also feature an all-day book exchange happening in designated read-and-chill areas on the campus grounds.
“It’s going to be fun,” promises Ravihari Ravendra Kumar, another staff organizer. “There’s going to be music, (and) it’s a really nice place to just sit around and read. And it’s going to run throughout the whole event.”
‘Reid Chats’ opens at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 20 at the Department of English, University of Colombo. Session passes are priced Rs.1000 and Event Passes
Rs.5000. Registration is free for anyone with a valid student ID. Contact 0743511513 or reidlitchats@gmail.com for more information.
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