Regardless of whether it was binge-watching a Netflix series or reading the Illiad, we turned towards the arts to find some sort of solace in an otherwise bleak moment in history. I’ve always held a certain fascination and appreciation for the arts, to me, they are a testimony to the greatnesses of the human mind.
During the school year, I often struggle with exploring literature outside of the recommended syllabus as I’m so consumed with everything else, so when quarantine came around, I took it as an opportunity to delve into some exciting new literature.
As I was browsing through my shelves, I noticed that most of the works were Western in origin, from Sylvia Plath to J.D Salinger. While I hold nothing but love and appreciation for Western literature, it occurred to me that quarantine was the perfect moment to branch out and explore the arts in different cultures and languages.
I chose to on poetry. Personally, I’ve always felt that poetry was one of the hardest forms of literature to master. The sheer skill and thought that one must put in, the ability to convey so much with such little freedom has always been an attestation to the writer’s craft. In poetry, every single word, technique, comma matters.
The poet that particularly stood out for me was Pablo Neruda. The surrealist and philosophical aspects present in Neruda’s “The Heights of Macchu Pichu” and “Walking Around” were particularly poignant given the current situation of our world. His Chilean background and left-wing beliefs gave a certain flavor to his poetry that I had not seen before.
Khalid Hosseini’s ‘The Kite Runner’ had been on my shelf for quite a while, but due to school work, I hadn’t gotten around reading it. Set in Afghanistan, the novel utilizes the backdrop of Afghan society to highlight issues such as class division and toxic masculinity. This book stood out in particular for me as many of the elements present in Afghan society are similar to the Sri Lankan society that I live in. Further, it was interesting to explore the dynamic between a father and son relationship as a woman and understand the struggle that men feel under the pressures of their fathers and society.
Overall, I’m grateful that this quarantine has opened so many new doors for me, and I certainly look forward to exploring literature from all across the world.