Contemporary Sri Lankan Literature and Art: The Creation of a New Community in the Aftermath of War

by Stefan Horlacher (Editor), Thilini Meegaswatta (Editor)

Overview

This volume brings together art, literature, and critical analyses to examine which concepts and blueprints of (re-)negotiation of national, ethnic and religious identities may pave the way towards a more inclusive yet open and plural Sri Lankan society. It looks to develop new, creative, and alternative concepts of community and nation-building as envisaged in Sri Lanka’s rich contemporary art scene, i.e. literature, theatre, film, and performing and visual arts. The individual chapters authored by prominent academics as well as renowned artists critically engage with a pertinent selection of contemporary Sri Lankan works of art and their visions of what a multi-ethnic, multi-religious Sri Lanka might look like in the aftermath of three decades of war, a severe economic crisis and the tenacious protests of 2022 (Aragalaya).

The first of its kind, this volume includes analyses ranging from disciplines such as Anthropology, Literary and Cultural Studies, Film and Performance Studies, South Asian Studies and Art History to topics such as the question of truth in testimonial literature, Buddhist nationalism, Sinhala identity politics and the (im)possibility of transitional justice. It is supplemented with interviews and unpublished short stories and poetry from well-known resident and diasporic Sri Lankan writers as well as art originating from the Aragalaya.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040430903
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/22/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	370
File size:	49 MB
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About the Author

Stefan Horlacher is Chair of English Literature at Dresden University of Technology, Germany.

Thilini Meegaswatta is a lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka.

Table of Contents

1. Sri Lanka and the Art of New Alternatives: The Creation of a New Community in the Aftermath of War 2. Sri Lanka's Postcolonial/Post-Civil War Conundrum, Transitional Justice and the Power of Art 3. Homi Bhabha's False Hope? Hybrid Culture and Identity Politics in Paanama, Sri Lanka 4. Affective Justice for an Ineffective Transition: Visceral, Vicarious Responsibility in Paangshu and Demons in Paradise 5. Living in the Past: Sinhala Buddhist Nationalism and Post-war Sinhala Cinema in Sri Lanka 6. Space and Emotions, Remembering Traumas: The Politics of Post-War Landscape Paintings in Sri Lanka 7. 'Traitors'/'Terrorists' and the Art of Self-Censorship 8. Artful Struggles: Art in the Aftermath of the Aragalaya-Porattam 9. "Audit the President, Parliament, Armed Forces and Police! Investigate!" — An Interview with Sujith Rathnayake 10. The Enactment of Community in Sri Lankan Artistic Practice: Performance, Public Space, Politics 11. Sri Lankan Witness Literature: The New Poetics of Affective Truth-telling in Post-war Testimonial Narrative 12. A Queer Voice in the Narration of Sri Lanka's Ethnic Conflict: Queer Visceral Embodiment and Sri Lankan Tamil Diasporic Women's Writing 13. Creating Meaning out of Dirt: Rituals, Taboos and the Abject in Anuk Arudpragasam's The Story of a Brief Marriage 14. The Ontologies of Morality in Anuk Arudpragasam's A Passage North 15. In an Occupied Land, Uncertainty, Interviewing an Unearthed Skeleton, A Silent Follower 16. There aren't enough gods in this world, Canal in Colombo 17. Zimzalabim 18. The Good Parents 19. Homecoming