Life portrayed by a ‘Dialogue in a Sherry’

By Divya Thotawatte

A poet possessing a unique viewpoint inspired by life experiences and memories, Prageeth Perera recently launched his first book ‘Dialogue in a Sherry’ sharing with the public his incomparable poetry which he keeps open to limitless interpretations. 

Prageeth Perera

First Copies of ‘Dialogue in a Sherry’ Presented to the journalist  Malinda Seneviratne

With a love for reading since a very young age, Perera is heavily inspired by the books he read, and his father who also held a great love for books and literature. He believes that his writing and poetry is a product of numerous thought processes and imaginations that he had when he read classical fiction or poetry or, simply pondering over real life incidents. Working as a Chartered Accountant in the Central Bank, he makes time to write his thoughts down on paper every opportunity that he gets. 

“My father was a reader of classical literature and I got to read them growing up. Even though I started writing as an undergraduate, I had to stop due to unavoidable circumstances. But, I have restarted writing again in the recent years. I write during my free time at work in the Central Bank. Except for a few, most of the poems included in the book have been written recently. They carry a lot of thinking and experiences and things that imaginations that I have made during my reading times as a kid, a student in Royal College and an undergraduate at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Writing takes me only a few hours, but the ideas have always been stored in my head somehow or the other,” he elaborated. 

He said his poetry was inspired by life experiences, memories and incidents relating not his life, but also family, friends and colleagues that he had come to witness throughout the years. As an introvert, Perera finds that it is easier for him to communicate with the paper, writing all the problems that he faces, the encounters that he has, the incidents that take place in his life daily. Sometimes, he cannot find the solutions through poetry, but writing is the way for him to express himself to the world and a manner to let his feelings out. “Don’t ask me to explain my poems, I will not do so. I don’t want to label them and say that I meant ‘this’. People perceive my poetry in different ways, they are open for various interpretations.” 

Perera spoke about his passion for poetry. “My love for poetry began during my school days. However, I started writing poetry only in 2003 when I was a university student. Most of them were published in school magazines of the university. ‘The Musketeer’ included in this collection is one of them,” he said. 

-Pix by Upul Abayasekara