Do you have a book written and plan to publish it as quickly as possible? Like most writers, you are naturally eager to get your book out after spending so much time writing it. The hard part is not yet complete. First-time authors may underestimate the work required to produce a successful published work.
This poem was written when I was in Freetown, Sierra Leon, in 2011. I was in one of the hilly, cosy hotels in Freetown, where my balcony overlooked the port of Freetown. The country has just gotten rid of the devastating civil conflict which broke out during the Liberian civil conflict.
‘I am not a poet but scribble lines I never publish on paper. This was written in 2001, while travelling by bus from Gampaha, my native town, to Colombo. The bus was passing through Main Street, Pettah, and I could not take my eyes off those cart pullers gathered on both sides of the road. Back then, I was a student. It was the day. I imagined their Night.’
Taking the high moral ground, I wanted to write stories that showed up these awful women and suitably ‘punished’ them.
The Asian Review 