We’re ready to rumble! KELF 2020 is just a click away!

The Kelaniya English Literary Festival (KELF) is an event that is annually organized by the Department of English of the University of Kelaniya. It is held in memory of the late Professor Manique Gunasekera in commemoration of her life and work in the discipline of English Studies. Her legacy is carried forth by the university’s departments of English and English Language Teaching. Her picture hangs on the department wall so that as you enter, it is her smiling face that greets you, a testimony to her bright personality. There is no batch of undergraduates in the department who have not heard of Professor Gunasekera and are not inspired by her work. Acclaimed as one of the most distinguished and internationally renowned scholars in the field of English studies, literature and linguistics in Sri Lanka, Professor Manique was a unique and inspiring personality. 

In December 2017, KELF was organized for the first time in celebration of the life and work of Professor Manique, and the magazine “Blink 2017 (E)merging Memories” was launched. This was a joint collaboration of the universities of Kelaniya and Jaffna and included submissions from undergraduates of both universities. The event included performances of original writings of the undergraduates as well as conversations with authors such as Ashok Ferry and Sunila Galappatti. On the 4th of December in 2018, KELF was organized under the theme “The world in the light of literature”. The event featured a panel discussion on the theme ‘‘Creativity and publishing in contemporary Sri Lankan English writing’’ and featured eminent personalities from the literary and academic fields in Sri Lanka. This included Vivimarie Vanderpoorten, Naomi Munaweera and Ameena Hussein. Professor Carmen Wickramagamage was the main speaker of the session. Furthermore, a series of workshops for O/L and A/L students and teacher training workshops, creative performances by undergraduates of the Department of English, games, food and book stalls added more excitement to the festival. In 2019, due to the shortened academic year, KELF was held on a smaller scale and saw a pleasant evening of poetry reading by the students of the department and alumni as well as the launch of Bherunda by Lakshani Willarachchi, one of the notable alumni of the department.

This year, due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic which has resulted in the closing of universities, the students of the Department of English have decided to embrace the challenges of technology and online learning in order to embark on a new journey to hold the biggest event of the department on a virtual platform. As it is happening on a virtual platform this year, we have been able to make the event more accessible for everyone. The inauguration of KELF 2020 themed “English studies in the time of the pandemic” will be streamed online on Tuesday, the 8th of December 2020 from 4.00 pm onwards on Zoom with the esteemed presence of Professor Arjuna Parakrama from the Department of English, University of Peradeniya, as the keynote speaker for the event. The event will be accompanied by the creative performances of undergraduates ranging from artwork to sketches, skits and poetry recitations. Additionally, a magazine titled ‘The Untold’ by the fourth-year undergraduates of the department featuring articles, short stories, poems, monologues, open letters, black and white sketches is to be launched as  part of the event. 

Following the theme “English studies in the time of the pandemic” the English Students Association of 2020 is hoping to hold a KELF week in January. As the theme this year is relevant to students island-wide, we are in the process of discussing themes and subthemes that can be discussed under this topic to transgress traditional boundaries of education. While we are determined to tackle any and all challenges that may be thrown our way in our very first virtual KELF, we hope that our efforts would be of great success with all the support and guidance of our well-wishers!

Parami R

Devindani P

Nipuni H