VOL 3 (2018)
BITACORA
minorities‘ voices. It addresses the silence as well as the remaking of history which often furthers the opinions of dominant voices. The focus of the writer while transcreating should be on the form/genre, context, interpretation of the characters, focalisation and plot/denouement of the primary text. Examples of criticallyacclaimed transcreated texts include The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood (primary text: The Odyssey by Homer), Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (primary text: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte), and several others. The students‘ active participation led to an enlightening discussion, which allowed for a stimulating experience as a participant as well as an observer.
Trishala Mohan III Year 22nd February, 2018
Poetry Workshop Conducted by Dr Anjana Neira Dev On the 22nd of February 2018, about 50 pupils from the Department of English along with many from Quilluminati, the English Creative Writing Society got together for a workshop on the basics of poetry conducted by Dr Anjana Neira Dev. The event was organised by Bitacora and the Lit Soc. With her characteristic energy and charm, she grabbed the attention of all the participants describing poetry. This quote from William Blake‘s Auguries of Innocence encapsulated it best: ―To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a heaven in a Wild Flower. Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour.‖
Dr. Dev explained various kinds of lines in poetry like enjambed and end-stopped lines, as well as the different kinds of stanzas based on the number of lines in them like couplets, tercets, and quatrains. The participants got to explore various poetic forms, including Fibonacci poems and Japanese haiku. In these short forms, the students were encouraged to write their own poems and many recited them during the workshop, merging theory with practice. Dr. Dev read out from longer poetry forms too, many of which were completely new to the participants of the workshop and helped expand their knowledge. Dr. Dev also encouraged the participants to try writing in the new styles they had discovered which included ghazals in English, and Pantoums. She stressed the importance of not paying heed to baseless criticism when it came to writing one‘s own poetry but to ensure that one feels confident in writing it and likes it themselves while simultaneously making sure one masters the language they are writing in. The hour spent with her not only clarified the basics of poetry but opened up a whole new world of poems to discover and write.
Nashra Usmani I Year
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