LITERATURE SEMINAR

The March holidays started out like a normal holiday for most people. But for many Literature students, it began with learning – learning of Literature.

It was pleasant to see young and energetic teenagers strolling into the venue in large groups and just enjoying each other’s company. Although it was school related and included (dreadful) lectures, it was not boring. Oddly enough, everyone looked happy to be there. My dear classmates transformed into esteemed ladies and gentlemen with their casual attire. The whole building radiated with youthful energy and it felt lovely.

The first lecture was on Unseen Poetry analysis and we started by reading “Rush Hour” by Elaine Terranova who surprisingly, did not write about the inconvenience that commuters face with transportation systems in the morning and evening. It was about, wait for it, domestic abuse! Gasps. As she went through every line in the poem without missing a single punctuation mark, the whole message of the author became clearer to me. After working on poetry, we analysed an excerpt from Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five”. The excerpt related events from the Second World War but related it in reverse-chronological order. Where else can you find backward history asides from Literary masterpieces?

Throughout both lectures, the lecturer emphasized that literary analysis is all about recognizing patterns that we already know from what we experienced in our lives and what we have seen in society. She wanted us to connect prose and poetry with societal issues that we already have basic knowledge on. Suddenly, my Literature tests and exams no longer seemed… Terrifying. The lecturer made it seem so easy, as if the excerpt or poem was a jumbled up puzzle and I am supposed to complete it. Simple.

After some highlighting, annotating, heated but whispered discussions and some questions from the floor, everyone could go home. There was something different about having the lecture over there rather than having it in class. My teachers say that it keeps as “assured” and that we “know we’re learning the correct thing” so we’ll “trust them more”. That’s not it. I think it is just great to have Literature students and teachers together in the same room. The camaraderie formed through a special subject, different from science and mathematics. Most Literature students take Literature as a subject because they love it. That’s it! It’s the common love for the subject that made the whole gathering pleasant. The whole room was just filled with intellectual, witty and generally wonderful people. It just felt so fantastic to be part of something huge.

I remember when the lecturer came to the last part of “Rush Hour”, which said, “begin like a blessing”. I felt blessed to sit there with hundred other blessed young men and women.