Short & Sweet, curated by Sanjana Hattotuwa
“When words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain.”-William Shakespeare
Inspired by Robert Swatwood’s Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer, Short & Sweet, curated by Sanjana Hattotuwa, is a collection of more than 160 stories, some of which reflect shades and scars of Sri Lanka’s recent past . The stories uniquely Sri Lankan in flavour, have a universal appeal. The book works as notebook too and can be treasured or passed on to loved ones.
Like Swartwood’s original, this “short & sweet” book is one that you can start reading at any page. Though it started off as an experiment in creative writing, the end result is a collection of little surprises, that bring forth a psychedelic myriad of emotions- tumultuous and horrific on one page and surprisingly sensual and mischievous on another.
The stories reach out and make the reader ponder. Each story paints a vivid picture and makes one realise, that words are indeed powerful.
Excerpts………..
BROKEN GLASS ON THE GALLE ROAD by Afdhel Aziz
Scuffed shoes,
no feet in them.
Miles away,
a woman with flour on her hands
hears her phone ring.
A( SRI LANKAN) MOTHER’S LOVE by Balachandran Gowathaman
The son was visiting home after two years.
She fed him well.
Then covered him in a funny sack
and hid him in the attic.
THE RETURN OF THE SEA by Wijith De Chickera
“Look,” he said, pointing.
“The sea is running away!”
“Quick,” she responded, standing up suddenly.
“Let’s follow- it may not come back!”
But it did.
CLASSIFIED by Vivimarie VanderPoorten
Wanted: A girl with a heart.
She replied. She liked creative men.
She saw the small print too late:
“big enough to break several times.”
SECOND HAND by Jeevani Fernando
The best thing I heard about eating habits was that
eating local food with fork and spoon
is like making love to the translator.
A must have on your book shelf!!!!!
Sanjana Hattotuwa is a senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives, Colombo and the curator of Groundviews http://www.groundviews.org an award winning citizen journalism website.
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About artikaaurorabakshi
Artika Aurora Bakshi
Artika Aurora Bakshi is the author of three well-acclaimed children’s books,My Little Sikh Handbook, My Little Sikh Handbook 2: Ardas, My Little Sikh Handbook: Travel Journal, and an anthology of stories, Hold On To Me. Her first story, set in Amritsar, during the pre-Partition period, All She Had Left, was published on Story Mirror.
She co-manages thegoodbookcorner.com, a manuscript help and book review site. Her passion for reading has led her to helping other writers with their manuscripts.
She comes from a family of lawyers and has a master’s degree in International Banking & Finance.
Currently based in Sri Lanka, she teaches Commerce and History on a part-time basis at an international school and enjoys being part of the literary scene in Sri Lanka. A regular at the Galle Literary Festival and other literary events in Sri Lanka, Artika’s articles and book reviews have featured in the Daily Mirror, Daily News, The Ceylon Chronicle, and various blogs, such as, talkingcranes.com, sikhchic.com, sikhnet.com.
She was actively involved with SAARC Women’s Association of Sri Lanka and was President of the Association in 2016.
An avid reader, Artika runs an online book club with a membership base of over 600 members.
Her quotes are featured under soul.nightingale on Instagram and on Soul Nightingale by Artika Aurora Bakshi on Facebook.
Artika is also working on her fourth children’s book in the My Little Sikh Handbook series and a second anthology of stories for adults.
You can reach Artika at bakshiartika@gmail.com .
the good book corner 