The Novelist and Censorship: A Sri Lankan-Australian Perspective

Abstract

In a political sense, my writing could be seen as interrogating mainstream templates, presenting an alternative philosophy that is neither totally Sri Lankan nor Australian. What limitations are imposed on my writing within this context? What external pressures (and freedoms) does each culture impose on my writing? How does my own cultural ethos affect my writing process? How do I resist, contest, disrupt and destabilize these impositions? This paper interrogates the preservation of a writer's freedom of expression and commitment to the truths of art in the context of diaspora politics.