It's pretty rare to see Malaysians who hold immense interests in poems these days. Say, who remembers 'Venus And Adonis' by William Shakespeare? Or perhaps, 'The Fighter's Line' by Marzuki Ali, which is featured in the secondary school literature textbook?
Well, to have a passion in poems doesn't mean you have to read and analyse them like a Literature student. Penning one, whether it rhymes or not, is enough to call yourself a poetic prodigy!
A Malaysian poetry-lover, Nicholas Wong Weijian, has recently started a program on Facebook and Instagram, offering chances to students and teens like him to have their poetry works posted. He, as the admin of his poetry-promoting page on Facebook, Almostpoetic, put on a good example in himself to compose at least a poem a day, making about 365 pieces of work done in 2015, so as to arouse the love of poems in the younger society.
Wong, who is currently pursuing a degree in Financial Economics at UTAR Perak, has already had his main goal set before starting this project, which is simply to create a sustainable reason for himself to write more. He specially points out that the program is never a part of his desire for fame or wealth, but he will not say 'NO' to a chance of gaining more exposure, which will undeniably help him get more attention on his works. Indeed, this program undoubtedly provides more opportunities to reach more audience, and might even get more people into the art.
He reveals to have a unique preference in modern poetry, and thinks that modern poetry spins around simplicity more instead of complexity, which is exactly the main point of making the whole thing simply unblemished. On the other hand, classics seek to provide breadth and fullness to the reader, attempting to be impressed, some may even be found challenging to be analysed and understood, which is much a cause of Literature students' headaches.
"Modern poetry is all about capturing a moment. A flash of lightning. An emotion. It's all about wringing empathy from the reader," says Wong, as he further adds on a statement that many poets nowadays tend to compose things that are way too ostentatious, "One of the biggest downfalls a poet can face - in my experience - is over-thinking a poem. Trying to be too smart. Too complex.
"I seek not to create, but only to describe what I see in my own heart and mind. That's why my best poems tend to be very stream-of-thought. I've always maintained that good poetry is not about creating something new.
Good poetry simply reveals what is already there within you."
Find him here,
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/almostpoetic1?ref=br_tf
Instagram:
http://instagram.com/almostpoetic/
By,
Euan Thum.
Written on 8/1/2015.
Rated 5 out of 5.
Well, to have a passion in poems doesn't mean you have to read and analyse them like a Literature student. Penning one, whether it rhymes or not, is enough to call yourself a poetic prodigy!
Wong, who is currently pursuing a degree in Financial Economics at UTAR Perak, has already had his main goal set before starting this project, which is simply to create a sustainable reason for himself to write more. He specially points out that the program is never a part of his desire for fame or wealth, but he will not say 'NO' to a chance of gaining more exposure, which will undeniably help him get more attention on his works. Indeed, this program undoubtedly provides more opportunities to reach more audience, and might even get more people into the art.
He reveals to have a unique preference in modern poetry, and thinks that modern poetry spins around simplicity more instead of complexity, which is exactly the main point of making the whole thing simply unblemished. On the other hand, classics seek to provide breadth and fullness to the reader, attempting to be impressed, some may even be found challenging to be analysed and understood, which is much a cause of Literature students' headaches.
"Modern poetry is all about capturing a moment. A flash of lightning. An emotion. It's all about wringing empathy from the reader," says Wong, as he further adds on a statement that many poets nowadays tend to compose things that are way too ostentatious, "One of the biggest downfalls a poet can face - in my experience - is over-thinking a poem. Trying to be too smart. Too complex.
"I seek not to create, but only to describe what I see in my own heart and mind. That's why my best poems tend to be very stream-of-thought. I've always maintained that good poetry is not about creating something new.
Good poetry simply reveals what is already there within you."
Using the pseudonym 'N', Nicholas posts a poem a day on his social pages.
Wong plans on not only posting his own poems on both Facebook and Instagram pages through this poetry-supporting project, but at the same time presenting admirable works from others. He is rather surprised to see that many adroit youngsters do not own the opportunities to show the world their enviable talents, some are even too shy to make their works go public. He hopes that the program will as well be a medium to help people self esteem-wise.
"Since you can submit anonymously - or just use a pseudonym - you can pursue the craft without fear of not being good enough. And once you see that the reception to your work is positive, you really do feel all sorts of good within yourself," claims the 23-year-old KLite.
"My friend, who goes under the pseudonym 'Leo' on the page, is a good example. Honestly, he's pretty hard on himself sometimes. Really pessimistic. But when I showed him that his first poem received a warm reception from readers, I could tell that he felt very happy about it."
Many youngsters in the Malaysian society are actually prodigious in poetry, just that they do not realise their admirable talents in this particular field of art. Hence, if you're interested, even just slightly, you are fully encouraged to have your works delivered to this enthusiastic guy, he might give you appropriate help so you can work out more on the newly-aroused interest, and get more attention on your works.
Find him here,
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/almostpoetic1?ref=br_tf
Instagram:
http://instagram.com/almostpoetic/
By,
Euan Thum.
Written on 8/1/2015.
Rated 5 out of 5.
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