As one of the assignments for this course, students were asked to do a piece of creative writing using the characteristics (whether formal or not) of one of the texts that we discussed during the semester. The assignment required that they follow the conventions and characteristics of the text (China, Japan, Puerto Rico, and ancient Mesopotamia) but used their own experiences in Botswana for the content. Here are some samples of their work.
Students who wrote the following poems modelled their work very loosely on examples from the work of the Chinese poets Xin Qiji, Zhang Xian, and Zhu Dunru.
"The Absolute Me" by Lesedi Oampona Nature has taken its course, so they say From a little girl in love In love with her birthplace, Mahalapye To a mature woman in love In love with herself and others. Raised by my father and mother To believe I am no better from my brother Because I am a girl, so they say Raised by my biased society To believe that my place is in the home. Courage I have still To honour my beloved parents Respect my beloved society Be at home as it expects Be womanly and wash the dishes. But what about what I believe in? What is correct to me Proper to me Perfect to me Am I forever bound to the dishes? You may say I am selfish Maybe that is what Confucious negates But first things first Attend to my nature. Attend to my beloved society later. "Merry I Am" by Mampitsa Matenanga Merry I am in my days Tears have gone with the winds Birds whisper sweet music to my ears Logs are a comfort to sit on Though penniless, I am content Sometime ago I watched A man axed a tree to sell Thunderously it crashed over him Pained by his hands was he. A boy and a girl interlocked But parted as each went to his doom In the centre blood dripped and money could be seen. I nearly succumbed to this treachery Of a darkness coated with a magnetic beacon I had stooped at the feet of deceit. Now perfect beauty abides in my heart Human yearnings are no more in me Restlessness has evaporated into thin air I am mounting on top Covered by peace I stay Like a tree I am dressed by mother nature I have passed by days gone I live today for today Not today for the future I embrace each passage of time I drink happiness And get drunk with joy.
Webpage edited by Dr. M. S. Lederer, lecturer for ENG434.
Copyright for each work belongs to the author.© 2003