The third annual Galle Literary Festival opened on Wednesday afternoon with a press conference at the Fortress Hotel. A press release, likely reprinted in full over the weekend, was handed out with the media kit, which also included a free box of Dilmah tea, and a detailed map of Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 3. The media briefing was not intended to be a literary event, and it was not.

The Galle Literary Festival has confounded the local press since its inception. Is this a sinister form of cultural neocolonialism? Is it a marketing scheme concocted by a foreign hotelier looking to build business after the tsunami? Why here? Why this? Like tourists snapping candid photos of toothless betel sellers in Wellawatte, the GLF and its trappings seem to strike the local press corps as amusing and patronizing, but mostly just odd.

Festival organizers highlighted the GLF’s international renown, and the positive impact the event stands to have on the image and economy of Galle. When they opened the floor for questions, however, reporters rushed in with their own due diligence. In bold, grammatically-suspect English, free of the nuance and cadence that turns writing into literature, the reporters asked: what gives?

Q: Is this GLF smaller than the last? Why?

A: Yes, for lots of reasons.

Q:Why is the GLF so expensive?

A: It’s not. But if it were, it would be due in part to the lack of support from a government arts council.

Q:Is the GLF elitist? If so, why is the GLF so elitist?

A: It’s a literary festival. Why does the cow moo?

Q: I don’t understand the printed festival program that was included in my press kit.

A: It’s really quite simple.

Following the press conference the reporters joined authors and festival goers across the street at the Martin Wickramasinghe Museum. Prominent Sri Lankan author Romesh Gunesekera spoke at a dais in front of the historic home. He said that there is a situation in this country with which we are all familiar. This situation has blighted the country in many ways, for many years. We might discuss this situation, one might infer, at this celebration of the power of words to name and describe, accuse and deride. Gunesekera spoke about this situation, these circumstances, for approximately six minutes without further elaboration on their precise nature.

Following Gunesekera’s remarks, four young Sri Lankan writers presented their work. The readings concerned the lyrical nature of the streets of Colombo, alcoholism, the state of mind of the young and restless rich, and the musings of a young poetess who feels a profound connection to the work of Virgil.