In tone and quality, the work of Yasmine Gooneratne generally resembles that of Patrick Fernando, but both poets are different from Lakdasa Wikkramasinha. The latter is a radical poet, his radicalism stoked by his traumatic reaction to his English affiliations as well as by a desire to shock the reader and bring awareness. In a note to his first volume of poems, Lustre (1965), he wrote:
I have come to realise that I am using the language of the most despicable and loathsome people on earth; I have no wish to extend its life and range, enrich its tonality. To write in English is a form of cultural treason. I have had for the future to think of a way of circumventing this treason; I propose to do this by making …
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Citation: Goonetilleke, D. C. Ranjan Alwis. "Lakdasa Wikkramasinha". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 February 2018 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4713, accessed 22 November 2024.]
