Neloma Wijesinghe’s mother was a trained English teacher and believed that one has to read the classics to be fluent in language.
Hence, Neloma’s very first exposure to reading was the classics and books by Enid Blyton. However, after reading ‘Anne’s House of Dreams’, young Neloma figured out that there are other books out there other than Enid Blyton or the classics.
This opened so many doors of reading to her as she began getting obsessed with books. Apart from reading, Neloma also always had a dream that she would one day want to be a writer. It ran parallel with her love for reading. Today, she is the proud author of her two published poetry collections: ‘Soul: A Collection of Poems and Sounds Like Fun’, a children’s poetry collection published by The Jam Fruit Tree Publications.
Neloma described how seeing books physically lying around was an immense pleasure for her. She started collecting a huge amount of books that she ultimately had a library of around 3500 books. Just to see and smell these books was enough for Neloma. “But I had one bad habit. I didn’t borrow books or lend them, due to books getting misplaced and lost. However, Godtaught me a lesson,” said Neloma.
She recalled how there was a time when she was taking care of her mother and therefore, couldn’t properly take care of her collection of books. By the time she returned, most of her books in the library had been infested and destroyed by pests and therefore, couldn’t be recovered.
A majority of her children’s books were thus destroyed leaving her with only around 1,500 books. This is where she learned a lesson: if something brings you joy, you should share that with others. She explained how this is the same sentiment that went into her decision to publish her own books.
When it comes to her poetry collection, ‘Soul’, most of the poetry was the writing that she already had with her and therefore was written throughout the years. The poet never actually sat down and wrote for ‘Soul’. Neloma considers herself as someone who rarely shares her personal life with anyone and is known for keeping things to herself.
Major inspirations
‘Soul’ is a combination of her own experiences and also her reactions and responses to other people’s stories. One of the major inspirations for Neloma to publish her book is the above mentioned aspect of sharing. “When I read other people’s poetry, it helps my own life and inspires me to navigate my problems, daily situations and challenges. So in return, why shouldn’t I share my experiences, observations and responses via poetry as well? That could also help my reader and encourage them to think for themselves,” she said.
Neloma recalls some people bringing her self-esteem and self-confidence down in her life through which she struggled to cultivate confidence in her abilities as a writer and in return instilled doubt in her capabilities. This was a huge challenge and mindset for her to get over in order to publish her books.
“My publisher, Jeremy Muller’s encouragement and the chat I had with him was what brought this confidence back to me. I realised that nobody needs to be perfect or profound in their writing. I used to think I was not good enough but afterwards I realised that my self-esteem should not be dependent on the opinions of others.” Neloma also pointed out how most budding authors tend to compare their work with others. She believes this to be a huge mistake since everybody’s writing style is different.
Therefore, if writers keep comparing themselves with others, it’s only going to hold them back from putting their work out in the public. The poet considers the inspiring discussion she had with her publisher at The Jam Fruit Tree Publications to be a turning point in her life.
Neloma finds it difficult to explain her writing process to anyone. “It is a very weird and spontaneous writing process. For example in ‘Soul’, there are poems that I wrote out of random inspiration and also poems that I wrote as a coping mechanism.”
Main challenges
One of the main challenges that Neloma faced throughout the journey of publishing her books is publishing two books at the same time. Therefore, time constraints were a major challenge that the author had to constantly navigate as she also wanted this book to be out for her daughter by Christmas time. Convincing herself that her work is good enough is another challenge that she had to overcome.
However, reading her poetry again with a different point of view after being told that her writing is good by her publisher was a memorable experience for her. She thus highlights how such a shift of perspective can happen when feedback is given by someone who is considered an expert in that field.
Seeing her book in pdf format for the first time with the cover was another memorable moment for Neloma. Having her daughter here with her when her books came out and the launch of her books was something she won’t forget. “My launch was an act of gratitude for those who supported me.”
When asked about the inspiration behind her children’s poetry collection, Sounds Like Fun, Neloma shared her personal experience with us. In 1984, after Neloma was done with her A/Ls, her mom was conducting elocution classes at home and asked Neloma to help her as well. “It was during this time when we did these Yolanda School Poems for the children. This was what propelled her to start teaching herself as well which is what she does to this day. Inspired by The Yolanda School Poems, Neloma decided to write her own poems for children.
Inspiration
Some of the major challenges she went through while writing ‘Sounds Like Fun’ is to rhyme every poem and have them fit into the sounds. It should also be child-friendly and she strived to put in small morals in between the poems as well in the form of tiny lessons and small thoughts.
The inspiration behind these poems is from her own children and also experiences she got from her mother. She also explained how she felt when she was a child herself and then later as a teacher all contributed into writing this poetry book.
Another challenge that she had to undergo was art. The graphic artist that she relied upon for the book couldn’t work on her book on time because of the time constraints she had. Therefore, Neloma herself had to design her illustrations which was a major project that she had to undertake.
‘Sounds like Fun’ is also a tool for teachers as well to reinforce the alphabet sounds and teach vocabulary through reading, acting, role-playing etc. For the parents as well, it is an opportunity to introduce their children to the joys of poetry and share the experience with them as they read, recite, and bring the characters to life together.
“It feels wholesome for a writer when people buy their books,” said Neloma. She also believes that if a writer wants to publish, they should also read as much as they can. “I believe that it’s not advisable to be in a shell while writing. There’s more to everything than you see. It’s always important to be open-minded. New authors should keep writing until they build up their confidence to publish their work. Whether you publish them or not, you should never stop writing.”
