Shirani Rajapakse

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About Shirani Rajapakse
Shirani Rajapakse is an internationally published, award winning poet and author. She won the Cha 'Betrayal' Poetry Contest 2013 and was a finalist in the Anna Davidson Rosenberg Poetry Awards 2013.
She is the author of three collections of short stories, "Breaking News" (2011, 2018) -shortlisted for the 2010 Gratiaen Award and "I Exist. Therefore I Am" (2018) – winner of the 2019 State Literary Award and shortlisted for the 2019 Rubery Book Awards, and "Gods, Nukes and a Whole Lot of Nonsense" (2021). Her poetry collection "Chant of a Million Women" (2017) won the 2018 Kindle Book Awards, was chosen as an 'Official Selection' in the 2018 New Apple Summer eBook Awards for Excellence in Independent Publishing and received an Honorable Mention in the 2018 Readers’ Favorite Awards.
Rajapakse’s work appears in many international publications including, Flash:The International Short-Short Story Magazine, Litro, Silver Birch, International Times, City Journal, Writers for Calais Refugees, The Write-In, Asian Signature, Moving Worlds, Citiesplus, Deep Water Literary Journal, Mascara Literary Review, Kitaab, Lakeview Journal, Cyclamens & Swords, New Ceylon Writing, Channels, Linnet’s Wings, Spark, Berfrois, Counterpunch, Earthen Lamp Journal, Asian Cha, Dove Tales, Buddhist Poetry Review, About Place Journal, Skylight 47, The Smoking Poet, New Verse News, The Occupy Poetry Project and in anthologies, Poets to Come: A Poetry Anthology (Local Gems Press, 2019) The Dreamers Anthology: Writing Inspired by the lives of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Anne Frank (2019), Sugar Flavored Rock Candy (2019), Fireflies & Fairy Dust: A Fantasy Anthology (Eu-2 2018), Flash Fiction International (Norton 2015), Ballads (Dagda 2014), Short & Sweet (Perera Hussein 2014), Poems for Freedom (River Books 2013), Voices Israel Poetry Anthology 2012, Song of Sahel (Plum Tree 2012), Occupy Wall Street Poetry Anthology, World Healing World Peace (Inner City Press 2012 & 2014) and Every Child Is Entitled to Innocence (Plum Tree 2012). Her work has also been translated into Farsi.
She has a BA in English Literature (University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka) and a MA in International Relations (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India).
She has interviewed, promoted and reviewed books by indie authors on The Writer's Space at shiranirajapakse.wordpress.com
Connect with her at shiranirajapakse.wordpress.com or follow her at, facebook.com/shiranirajapakseauthor/
twitter.com/shiraniraj
pinterest.com/shiraniraj/
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linkedin.com/in/shiranirajapakse
youtube.com/channel/UColOCCII3hgHvG3PJy3Cacw
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Blog post“Hope” is the third poem published on the 32nd Medellin International Poetry Festival site. It was written for an anthology about the Sahel region in Africa and was published in “Song of Sahel” Plum Tree Books, Sep 15, 2012, UK, and republished in “About Place Journal” Vol II Issue III, Black Earth Institute, Nov 2013, USA.
.
Hope
.
Give me a sip of water
for my lips are parched, my throat too dry
to speak and I will sing you a song
of t4 days ago Read more -
Blog postI’m reciting poetry at the 32nd Medellin International Poetry Festival at the following time. You can check out the rest of the program here.
1 week ago Read more -
Blog postHere are a couple of beautiful posters done for the 32nd Medellin International Poetry Festival that starts next month.
1 week ago Read more -
Blog postI’m one of 90 poets with work published in “Whispering Willow: Tree Poems” an anthology about trees. My contributions are “Late Evening”, “Tall Majesty” and “The Road to Over There.”
2 weeks ago Read more -
Blog postParticipated in National Flash Fiction Day after a really long time. This was the 11 word “story” published in The Write-in today. It’s what I’d call a tiny story.
Sunday, 19 June 2022 ‘Eleven Word Story’ by Shirani Rajapakse You always wore your smile at an angle. Nerves, they died.
Posted by Sara Hills at 15:30
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Labels: 2022 Prompt #0
2 weeks ago Read more -
Blog postCombustion is a flash story I wrote for National Flash Fiction Day at The Write-In. It is based on an image prompt.
Sunday, 19 June 2022 ‘Combustion’ by Shirani Rajapakse Anger swirled, turning her hair the exact shade of burning flames. They didn’t see fire shoot out of her scalp and cascade down her shoulders. They were so engrossed with their conversation and the guilt of what they’d done that they never noticed. Just like they never detected her slipping something in their drinks<2 weeks ago Read more -
Blog postTall Majesty is the second poem posted on the website of the 32nd Medellin International Poetry Festival. It was published in About Place Journal and written for the theme on trees.
Tall Majesty
. It got in the way.
.
That’s what they said. They
needed space for the road for
the big cars to move.
My coconut tree had to go – too soon
too young. It fell
to the ground, a majestic
tree that didn’t harm a soul.
.
One day it was no mor3 weeks ago Read more -
Blog postA few of the poems I will be reading at the 32nd Medellin International Poetry Festival are up on the website. They are in Spanish, translated by Arturo Fuentes. The funny thing is when translated back into English through the web translator, it works very differently from what I wrote. I’ll post a poem each, as I wrote and published them, in the original English.
Taken for Granted I drink straight from the tap
and mull over Fishman’s assumption;
T –Rex may have sample1 month ago Read more -
Blog postHonored to be participating in the 32nd Medellin International Poetry Festival. Thanks, Fernando Rendón for inviting me. Also thanks also to Luis Eduardo Rendón and the organizing team. I’ll be reciting poetry on July 18th at 20:00 Columbia Time. #32FIPMed #pazmundial #PazConLaNaturaleza #poetrycommunity #poetryfestival #poetry #poetryisnotdead #poetsofinstagram #shiranirajapakse
1 month ago Read more -
Blog post“When Earth Locked Down” is published in International Times today. Read it below or at the site.
When Earth Locked Down We mastered the art of smiling
with eyes.
It didn’t matter that a mask
covered most of our face. We could still<1 month ago Read more
Titles By Shirani Rajapakse
A dazzling new anthology of the very best very short fiction from around the world.
What is a flash fiction called in other countries? In Latin America it is a micro, in Denmark kortprosa, in Bulgaria mikro razkaz. These short shorts, usually no more than 750 words, range from linear narratives to the more unusual: stories based on mathematical forms, a paragraph-length novel, a scientific report on volcanic fireflies that proliferate in nightclubs. Flash has always—and everywhere—been a form of experiment, of possibility. A new entry in the lauded Flash and Sudden Fiction anthologies, this collection includes 86 of the most beautiful, provocative, and moving narratives by authors from six continents, including best-selling writer Etgar Keret, Zimbabwean writer Petina Gappah, Korean screenwriter Kim Young-ha, Nobel Prize winner Czeslaw Milosz, and Argentinian “Queen of the Microstory” Ana María Shua, among many others. These brilliantly chosen stories challenge readers to widen their vision and celebrate both the local and the universal.
Includes work by: Kennedy Vega, Autumn Lindsey, Jewel Eliese, Aisha Mohamed, Robert Rogler, Marya Layth, Haley Pritzl, A.N. Moore, Amanda Linsmeier, Joe Euclide, Jamie McLachlan, Norma Bishop, Bianca M. Schwarz, Cara Masset, Alicia Gaile, Candice Conner, Shirani Rajapakse, Kerry E.B. Black, Mandy Eve-Barnett, Kim Plasket, Artyv K, and Leslie Wibberley.
These nine stories are all about travel, physical, spiritual and imaginative, and are set in India. The stories retrace the steps of travelers that have made long journeys to sacred places, of journeys of hope and longing to be reunited with family or to connect more closely with God, as well as an individual’s journey to create a persona to show to the world.
Imaginative, contemplative and funny these stories speak of human nature and the connections we have to one another, irrespective of color, race, religion or where we come from.
day he walked out, the day she
last saw him and the exact moment
she heard his voice on the phone assuring her
all was well. And then
no more.
What happened? What went wrong?
She would never know. There was no
one left to respond, and those that were there
didn’t dare speak up as the reasons for
what took place didn’t make sense
so they kept quiet and hoped in time
she would understand.
Conflict raged in the tiny island nation of Sri Lanka for close to three decades. People from all walks of life, ethnic, religious and age groups suffered. The Tamil terrorists disrupted life and property all over the country for three decades, while for a few years in the late 1980s a Marxist guerilla group caused chaos, but this was soon wiped out. The Tamil terrorists however took much longer. These poems are a reflection of the time. They take on voices of people from across the divide and speak of the incredible loss the people all suffered.
A young girl searches for a loved one. A mother grieves for her sons. A soldier wakes up with a missing limb. A woman reveals her true nature when she blows herself up. A young boy is traumatized by the loss of his baby sister. These nine stories take you through glimpses of two civil wars and what it’s like to live under the threat of terrorism. Yet all is not dreary; there are glimpses of humor and satire as life goes on amidst pain and suffering.
- Winner - 2019 State Literary Award
- Shortlisted - 2019 Rubery Book Awards
The language is simple yet the thoughts and ideas are not. They rise from the depth of our very being to swirl through the pages compelling the reader to step into worlds created within the covers. There is magnificence and strength juxtaposed with violence and weakness as are other opposites such as the divine and human frailty. These poems are like a breath of fresh air, provoking, mesmerizing and entertaining.
At our core is a chant,
soft,
like the susurrus of leaves only breezes
understand.
Sometimes it opens lips
to sing like gurgling waters meandering
from here to there, to wherever it flows,
or the soft tread of footfalls
on the path outside.
But sometimes,
it’s a roar so loud
thunder stops in its tracks
in awe.