The Onam celebrations in Kerala may have come to an end, but the literary resonance of “Beyond Light and Shadow” (എറിക് ലാസ്റ്റിക്: വെളിച്ചത്തിനും നിഴലിനും അപ്പുറം), the feature on American writer Eric Lastick, continues to linger among readers of Litterateur.
This was one of the featured articles published in the August 2026 Malayalam Edition of Litterateur Magazine.
Born on November 25, 1957, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Eric Lastick is a writer who transforms the ordinary experiences of life into extraordinary literary creations. In an interview with the Chief Editor of Litterateur Magazine, Lastick introduces himself in his own words:
“I am someone who loves people and the goodness in the world deeply. Many people say that my writings create a dreamlike atmosphere. Every reader can experience and interpret them according to their own life experiences. I try to find a story in every ordinary scene around me. Whether it is an old man, his cat and his guitar, or the lives of people at the bottom of society, I see beauty and meaning everywhere. Through my writing, I want readers to think beyond their usual ways of thinking.”
The article offers readers an intimate glimpse into the literary world of Lastik—a world where the ordinary becomes extraordinary, darkness contains its own possibilities, and seemingly insignificant lives reveal unexpected beauty and meaning.
The feature also carries Malayalam translations of one of Lastick’s poems and a prose poem, introducing his distinctive voice to Malayalam readers. Among the works explored is “An Old Man, a Cat and a Guitar — and Then Doctor Dark, the World of Darkness,” offering a fascinating glimpse into the unusual imaginative landscape of the writer.
Lastick’s literary journey can also be read as a passage through darkness towards self-discovered light. In a way reminiscent of Mahabali’s journey into the netherworld, his life and writing speak of confronting falls, darkness and difficult experiences, and transforming them into a world of his own through literature.
Published as part of the August 2026 Malayalam Onam Edition of Litterateur, the article “Beyond Light and Shadow” (എറിക് ലാസ്റ്റിക്: വെളിച്ചത്തിനും നിഴലിനും അപ്പുറം) remains relevant beyond the festival season—because its central question is not about Onam alone, but about the human capacity to discover light even within darkness.
A Writer Who Transcends the Boundaries of Literature
Eric Lastick’s writings cannot be confined to a single literary genre. He moves freely and independently across a wide range of forms, including poetry, experimental stories in the Gothic-Noir tradition, memoir, and creative works inspired by spiritual experiences.
He says:
“The different states of my mind and the journeys of my life could not be confined to a single genre. I am someone who writes very naturally. I do not like writing within a predetermined framework. My writing is a journey of discovery—a journey without rules or boundaries.”
The First Steps into Writing
From childhood itself, Lastick realized that writing was destined to be a part of his life.
From an early age, he possessed a mind that viewed life with a sense of wonder. By the time he reached adolescence, pen and paper had become his world.
In 1977, at the age of twenty, he wrote his first poem, “Crystal Blue Eyes.”
Blending memories of high-school love with elements of science fiction and the symbolism of a lunar eclipse, the poem marked the beginning of his literary journey.
Friendship with Lee G. Banks
The friendship he developed with renowned journalist and writer Leigh G. Banks became a turning point in Eric Lastick’s life.
For decades, Leigh G. Banks was a distinguished British investigative journalist, writer and broadcaster who made his mark on the international media landscape. He worked with major global media networks, including BBC, Netflix and AirTV, and gained international recognition for investigative reports that exposed corruption within powerful institutions.
But Banks was more than a journalist. He had a keen interest in discovering and encouraging talented people and unconventional ways of thinking from different parts of the world. Through his own blog and the Substack platform, he gave considerable space not only to political and social commentary but also to experimental literary writing.
It was Leigh G. Banks who first recognized the distinctive quality of Lastick’s writing style. After Lastick wrote a story about his fascination with Western films, Banks published it on his blog, giving Lastick an important international platform and helping strengthen their literary connection.
Banks played a significant role in the development of Lastick as a writer, serving not merely as a friend but also as a mentor and guide. Following Banks’s unexpected death, some older writings had to be removed at the request of his wife. However, at the request of Banks’s family, Lastick continues to serve as both the administrator and a writer for the blog.
By preserving both his own new writings and Banks’s creative works, Lastick continues to carry forward the literary legacy they built together. The literary heritage passed on by Leigh G. Banks—and the memories of their deep friendship—remain alive through the blog even today.
Lastick recalls Banks in these words:
“After Leigh’s death, I thought I would no longer have the opportunity to write professionally. But the blog remains a platform where I can share my thoughts. It is a continuation of our friendship.”
An Old Man, a Cat and a Guitar — and Then Doctor Dark, the World of Darkness
One of Eric Lastick’s most remarkable poems is “Old Man, Cat… and This Here, Guitar.” Presented in a quiet and understated language, the poem explores old age, companionship and acceptance of life, leaving a lasting impression on many readers.
Although the guitar is mentioned in the title, it does not actually appear in the body of the poem. Lastick says, however, that there is a deeper meaning behind this.
“The guitar is part of the old man’s journey through life. Years of experiences and memories are hidden within it. The cat and the guitar are two companions of his life. It is these three together that complete his life story.”
Lastick also explains that the poem’s final line, “Live life in the beauty of the day,” is more than simply a piece of advice.
“It is only after experiencing the joys and sorrows, successes and failures of life that the old man discovers peace of mind. Instead of worrying about his shortcomings, he finds happiness in the affection of his cat and in the simplicity of life. That is true peace.”
The poem is not merely about an old man and his cat. It reflects the self-acceptance and inner peace of every human being approaching the later stages of life.
The article concludes with a Malayalam translation of Eric Lastick’s poem, “Old Man, Cat… and This Here, Guitar” (വൃദ്ധൻ, പൂച്ച… ഇതാ, ഗിറ്റാർ), bringing his distinctive poetic voice directly to Malayalam readers.
Thiruvananthapuram | 3 September 2026
Litterateur TV has released a visualised reading of Shajil Anthru’s English poem “The Perfect Wound.” The film, titled Shajil Anthru’s poetry The Perfect Wound Visualization, runs just under four minutes and is now available on the Litterateur TV channel. The same video is being carried on the Litterateur Online News portal.
The lyric is spoken in the first person from the Netherworld on the returning day of Onam. Mahabali addresses an unnamed “you,” sets remembrance against justice, and ends with the question that gives the poem its title: whether the scheduled feast and the promise of memory are enough. The visualisation places that voice against images of feast, descent, and unanswered space rather than treating the festival only as celebration.
The poem has also been the subject of a published critical reading by the poet himself. The paper, “Mythic Descent and the Ethics of Remembrance: A Critical Reading of ‘The Perfect Wound,’” appears in the International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering Technology and Science (IRJMETS), Volume 08, Issue 09, September 2026, paper ID IRJMETS80900003593, pages 50–53. The article is online at: https://www.irjmets.com/paperdetail.php?paperId=268e87932b8bd4b15d8200263a0780a9
A publication certificate was issued on 3 September 2026.The study states at the outset that the writer of the poem and the writer of the essay are the same person, and it tries to keep the two roles apart. It reads the lyric as an independent text: calendar time against cosmic time, the three-fold fall as a geological rewriting of Vamana’s three paces, and the last phrase—“the perfect wound”—as a wound that is complete rather than admirable. It also names a limit of the poem, the crowded “you” that may be god, people, or later reader. Comparison is used only to place the architecture of descent, not to claim rank.
Shajil Anthru, Chairman of the K. M. Anthru Foundation and Editor of Litterateur Redefining World, works in Malayalam and English. “The Perfect Wound” belongs to that bilingual line and to a Kerala myth that still returns each Chingam. The new video and the journal essay put the same short lyric in two rooms at once: a public screening and a formal close reading.
Readers may watch the visualisation on Litterateur TV and on this portal, and consult the IRJMETS paper at the link above.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Irv3c0wAjw
Paper: IRJMETS, Vol. 08, Issue 09, September 2026, ID IRJMETS80900003593