High time for poetry

Beautiful words: The Seven O’Clock Tree centres around relatable themes like nature, family, childhood, the environment and relationships.

IT is very important to cultivate a love for poetry among Malaysian students.

First, it improves their reading skills, and this is closely linked to thinking, said Prof Malachi Edwin Vethamani.

When students read poetry, they think about what is happening in the poems and examine the issues dealt within, he explained.

Second, reading poems helps readers to appreciate the creative use of language, he added.

“They will see how poets use images and various devices to convey their messages in the poems,” he told StarEdu.

The University of Nottingham Malaysia emeritus professor would know all about the power of poetry and literature, having not only taught the English language for over four decades, but also made a name for himself as a poet and author.

His firm belief in instilling the love for poetry in students recently saw him publishing The Seven O’Clock Tree, an anthology of 50 poems selected from his three collections of poems.

But what first gave Prof Malachi the impetus to launch the project targeted at young Malaysian young readers were the requests by teachers and friends who wanted a poetry book for this age group, he shared.

In the language classroom, he said, teachers play a key role of making poetry reading enjoyable.

“Students will know when teachers come into the class and project their own unfamiliarity with, or dislike for, poems.

“A confident teacher will be able to read the poems with the students, and carry out various reading activities to help students understand what the poets are trying to convey,” he offered.

Eager to help raise the readership of poems in the classroom, Prof Malachi said he had compiled poems to which young readers can relate, with themes centring on nature, family, childhood, the environment and relationships, among others.

“Teachers have often told me that many poems were unfamiliar to students in terms of the depicted settings and issues.

Prof Malachi: It is my hope that students will first enjoy reading the poems and then begin to think about themselves and the world they live in.

“I chose my poems that were set in Malaysia and that were written in a language that is not difficult for young readers,” he said, adding that pupils with high English proficiency in upper primary schools will be able to read many of the poems in the book.

“It is my hope that students will first enjoy reading the poems and then begin to think about themselves and the world they live in,” he shared.

Describing poetry reading as a unique experience, Prof Malachi said short poems give students a sense of achievement when they complete reading them within a short time.

“Books take a longer time to finish and that could overwhelm many students.

“It is very important that students are given appropriate poems in terms of language difficulty and also topics to which they can relate.

“These two factors will affect how students respond to poetry reading,” he emphasised.

Expressing his hope that the anthology will “get the attention of as many young people as possible”, Prof Malachi said it also comes with a section called “Suggested Reading Questions for the Poems”.

“It is meant to give students, teachers and parents some ideas on how the poems can be read in an in-depth way,” he said, adding that teachers and parents need to be role models for students.

On poetry writing, Prof Malachi shared that reading is the key to accomplishing this.

“There are also many opportunities to attend creative writing classes. The classes are for both young and older people who are interested in developing creative writing skills. “Attending these workshops will give one the opportunity to meet other people who enjoy writing and enable one to get the help of a professional,” he advised.

He also offered another tip for poetry writing.

“There is a misunderstanding that all poems should rhyme. This is certainly not true. I focus on intonation and rhythm in my poems.

“Poems must be read aloud. When readers do that, they will feel the natural flow of the lines in the poems,” he said.

Nieha, 19, a student in Melaka, is a participant of the BRATs Young Journalist Programme run by The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) team. Applications for the BRATs 2023 programme are now open. For more information, go to facebook.com/niebrats.

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Now that you have read the article, test your understanding by carrying out the following English language activities.

1. Is there a poem that you remember reading? Name the title and describe the poem to your activity partner.

2. Look for a poem that interests you. Practise reciting it. When you are ready, perform your recitation in class and give a reason why you chose the poem in the first place.

3. Have you heard of blackout poetry? It is a poem that is created from blacking out any unwanted words from a written piece of text. Here’s your chance to try your hand at it. Create a blackout poem by choosing words from an article in today’s copy of the Sunday Star newspaper, while blacking out the rest of the passage. When you are done, show your end product to your teacher and friends. Have fun!

The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (Star-NiE) programme promotes the use of English language in primary and secondary schools nationwide. For Star-NiE enquiries, email [e-mail].