In many of my classes, when I introduce techniques in writing I tell my students that good and effective writing works the same way as a camera does; it captures a world. It captures the moment, paints a picturesque picture of an event or place with all its hues, and captures the emotions of a particular place, person, or event. In this installment we want to focus on how reading captures a world and how we can broaden our world and our attitude towards life, other people, and through our reading of stories especially in the English language.
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Let’s begin with a beautiful poem that demonstrates what we are trying to put across.
“It is a pleasure
When, rising in the morning,
I go outside and
Find that a flower has blossomed
That was not there yesterday.”
The poem was penned by Tachibana Akemi. What an evocative piece of art! The poem is romantic in nature. It speaks about the connection between nature, beauty and general human well-being.
The poem evokes a picture of vitality and hope; it paints a picture or a world of blossoming flowers as a sign of hope and restoration. The ecological thriving and striving of flowers is meant to reflect the rising buds and blossoms in people’s hearts. This poem is about hope, renewal and nature’s healing effect.
What a beautiful read! Let’s try another world as reflected in a beautiful writing piece. Here we go:
“Next time you’re at the beach, pick up a handful of sand and look at it- really examine it. You’ll notice that each grain differs from its neighbors. Some may be black, others shinny, still others may be green or white or various shades of brown. If you look at the grains under a microscope, more differences appear.
Some look smooth and rounded, some small and angular. All of these differences arise because the grains of sand you are holding, despite their differences, share one important property: all are part of one great cycles that operate in our planet.”
The excerpt introduces marine life and the conservation of marine resources. The extract calls us to admire and preserve nature’s own integrity and beauty. The extract introduces the colourful and kaleidoscopic nature of the sands, at the beach and the various hues they have when viewed through the microscope. And yet one can also see the harmony between nature and the beach sands although at first sight they appear to be different. We are learning, aren’t we? Good reads have a way of broadening our worlds as we have discussed at the outset of this piece. And the subjects and the panorama of knowledge are breathtaking, aren’t they?
Let’s try one last extract. Let’s explore;
“You’ll go far, “ she nodded. ‘Yes, you will. Your eyebrows are beautifully curved, like silkworms. That means you’ll be clever. And your ears are small and close to your head and shaped a certain way. That means you are adventurous and win much honour.”
She nodded solemnly. “Didn’t you know? The face is the map of the soul.” Then she leaned forward and raised her glasses and pointed to the corners of her eyes where there were too small hollows, just shadows, really.”
What an exciting, evocative, and explorative piece painting to us human striving, hope, and fears. Good writing delves deep into the heart. It’s also philosophical. Have you picked how the face is the map of the soul in the sense that facial expressions often depict the state of a person’s inner being and inner world? Reading and worlds! The extract is just beautiful and reassuring.
Here we are! What a journey! Stories depict and paint worlds. That’s what we should strive to do when we write. Let’s meet again next week for yet another exciting lesson.
l Vuso Mhlanga teaches at the University of Zimbabwe. For almost a decade and half he taught English language and Literature in English at high school. Send your comments and questions to: mhlangavuso85@gmail.com
