T.B.C( tontoma book club)

The Roots are still producing forth the Plants: Students display Love for the Poetry Workshop.

 

On the 14^th October 2015, Tontoma Poetry Session under Tontoma Book Club, (TBC).   We carried out our first workshop in Poetry, Project…..0001. A three day Creative Facilitation Workshop in Poetry with the Students of Meridian College Namasuba Zzana.

The aim of this workshop was to mainly interact with Literature Students, The Students Writers Club, and the Students that offer art. Introducing them to the literature outside the schools programme which very many are oblivious of, and think that literature is for purposes of passing exams. Many thought that literature is a matter of reading a book and force your way into the life of another person and Poetry in perspective, Students thoughts it is a matter of writing songs and rhyming words. The innocence in the eyes of these students  though was compelling. It tasked us to do something about it and allow the flowers to bloom in the field. This was our entry. I once bore this innocence. Tontoma bore this innocence not once or twice. We still bear this innocence and there is a way to go!

Our focus was on Poetry because as Tontoma, that is what we are set out to do, Promote self-discovery through Poetry. Because it is a discovery and as A facilitator, kitaka Alex. All I Did was to aid these Students with simple tasks and find out their thoughts and feelings towards a given subject.

The first task was for them to define what Poetry is,

Emphasis; “your definition of poetry defines your attitude towards Poetry”

These were inner definitions. No one taught them this.

Amazingly, some wrote poetic definitions that made me understand that they are poets.

A candle in them is silently burning and needs to be fuelled.

NB: these are lower grade students

Poetry is the study of interesting stories, poems and songs.

Poetry is a naked flower.

Poetry is a castle of flowers. By Christian Emmanuel

 

Poetry is the study of beautiful poems.

Poetry is poems written by a person called a poet.

Is the act of writing beautiful and interesting words.

Is the creativity or act of writing rhyming words.By Kayendeke Immaculate.

 This is something written that is interesting,

enjoyable and has a lot of meanings and new things.

Gloria.

 

Secondly, the students were tasked to define who a poet is.

The Purpose of this was to collect the student perspective about Poetry in general and erase that notion that Poetry is exclusive to elites.

 Emphasis “you are a poet. It does not matter the marks you get in a paper”.

The students had to define for me who a poet is.

 A poet is someone who expresses his or herself and writes, recites interesting stories. By Gloria

A poet is someone who recites rhyming words.

Is a man or a woman who talks about beautiful and attractive words.

Is a person who talks about what he or she is experiencing and feeling emotionally, physically and socially.                    By Kayendeke Immaculate

A poet is a person who beautifies something with a meaning.

Is an intelligent person who is able to play with a certain language.

Is a person with inspiring or interesting information or stories to put forward.

Is a person who expresses himself about something.

Is a mother.                           By Bukenya Jovans.

A poet is someone who writes poems.

Is a person whom thinks and comes out new ideas

Is a person who has the ability to see and create new things.      By Arue Margret

A poet is a person who writes rhyming words with a hidden meaning.

Is a person who sees, observes something, situations and beautifies them into information through reciting, writing and acting.

Is a person who expresses himself of herself emotional feelings being good or bad.

 By Christine Emmanuel.

 

Second day, 21^st October 2015. This was the day that excited the students much. The excitement and the willingness to explorer Literature outside school is what amazed me about these students. Tontoma took them on the field tour to the African Poetry Library.  Right in the arts centre, 32 East. Ugandan Arts Trust. Students poured love and passion desire and smiles on the books, some students picket out the books from the shelf and felt their health weight in their hands. The look on their faces carried a desire to scroll into the mystery that lay in the pages of the books. I could see the desire in their eyes to walk down the lane of the stories and the poetry in the books.

They explored the Arts centre. Most importantly, they fell in love with the books and that is what it mattered.

Them loving the books.

Them feeling the weight of a book in their hands.

Them, opening pages after pages.

Them listening to the soft vibrations as pages turned.

Them hugging the books

Putting books on their chests and feeling an inherent attachment

An unbreakable bond to literature and poetry.

And this is life

A big thanks flows over to  In Movement. Art for Social Change. East, Ugandan Arts Trust. Tontoma Poetry Session.  Each and every one that supported and is still supporting the move.

with thanks,

Kitaka Alex.