The first term of the year I got a great opportunity to join the Liger Literacy Leadership team as my essential. This team is very special because we are the leader, we lead our own learning. Our teacher, Cara, just help to facilitate and sometimes she helps to demonstrate. For instance, we lead our own book discussion and we create our own literacy spoken words. The main theme in this round is “Literature is Everywhere”. We read the book called The Rent Collector, which talked about a survival family that lived in the dump in Cambodia. It is 50% fictionalized and 50% based on true story. One of The authors of the Rent Collector goals wants the reader to get inspire in Literature. This is one reason why we read this book. This is my reflection of the first five chapter when I read the book.
Sadness, happiness, darkness, kindness, and illness are all happening at the same time while I’m reading, The Rent Collector. This book touches my heart and my feelings are indescribable because this is the first book EVER that made me connect with every character. I’m able to imagine the trials each character faces. Moreover, all of the quotes from this book that I read so far are meaningful and empowering. For instance, when Sang Ly is speaking about her clock, she says, “Sometimes broken things deserve to be repaired.” Literally, it means the clock broke nevertheless we can fix it no matter what. The figurative meaning refers to more than the clock, she is referring to more than the clock. In my opinion, the author wants to communicate the theme of second chances to the reader. Even though you lose hope in life or your plan doesn’t work the way you want it to be, you always have another opportunity. Don’t limit yourself to only one path.
The grandfather’s role in the novel is related to this quote. He motivates her to find steps for success even though she is enduring pain. Sang Ly walked through a difficult path with pain. As the quote in chapter two said “Crafting a plan is easy. Taking action will always prove to be the more difficult path.” It made me think that it’s normal to face a challenge and difficult situations. Sang Ly lives in the trash dump so there are many fears she has to confront every day. Her son, Nisay, has an illness she can’t find any solution to cure him yet. The gangsters at the dumb always try to attack her husband. She has to pay the Rent Collector every month to live at the dump. Her whole family is uneducated, she needs to find a way to learn Khmer literacy. In order for her son to have a better future. Most importantly, Sang Ly and her husband find money one day can only effort for a day. Anyway, even though they live in the dump they have the blissfulness, and the warmest family ever!
A part of that we wrote our own poems, those poems were inspired by the Rent Collector book. We learn to write different types of poems. Here are my poems.
I wrote this poem from the perspective of Sang Ly (the main character in the Rent Collector). This poem was inspired by Sang Ly. The style of this poem is called found poetry. Here are the four strategies we can use for found poetry. Strategy number one choose words and phrases completely at random from the text and then piece them together in poetic form. Strategy number two choose a character perspective and “find” their words from the book. Strategy number three choose a chapter that you enjoyed and want to focus on. Strategy number four get inspired by a certain format, structure, phrase like the examples from Alexander. For my poem, I used strategy number one.
The Power of Literature
I live in the dump. I look like the dump. I smell like the dump. I feel like the dump.
But literature fades the thoughts of the dump inside of me.
I believe everything is literature.
I believe literature is everything.
I am one of them. I am literature.
My lives, my hopes, my desires, my despairs, my passions, my strengths, my weaknesses. I am literature.
Literature is art with words.
I believe words are powerful.
Words have started and stopped wars.
Words have builded and lost fortunes.
Words have saved and taken lives.
Words have won and lost great kingdoms.
Every word I utter should be chosen with care.
I use words to save my son’s life.
I use words to read.
I use words to communicate great advice.
Literature is art with stories.
Stories teach me to not give up hope.
Stories tell me that we need to endure all the trials.
Stories make me see a better tomorrow.
Stories make me realize life has second chances.
I have my own life story. The life in the dump teaches me to have hope and to not limit myself to only one path.
Literature is a cake with many toys baked inside.
Knowing everything about literature isn’t enough, I have to accept how to enjoy it.
I read with my head, interpret it with my heart.
Your heart is about the same size as your fist.
Everyone heart has different sizes.
Everyone has different emotions.
Everyone has different feelings.
Everyone has different memories.
Everyone has different experiences.
Everyone interprets literature differently.
This is why literature is unique.
Everyone is unique.
Everyone’s stories are unique.
I am unique.
The life and story in the dump is unique.
What about you? What are your unique stories?
The style of this peom is photography inspired poetry. This where we pick a photogragh and write the poem about it.
Don’t say I’m lazy.
Everyday I wake up early.
To find my own destiny.
My life’s very busy.
But my kiddo’s life is foggy, smoky, hazy, and risky.
Digging, picking to find gold for a bowl of rice.
My life right now is in a vulnerable position.
I was raised with no education.
I can’t make any decisions.
My life depends on this smoky mountain.
You can’t laugh at me and call me dirty.
Because I’m not lazy.
I want to be who I am.
And fight for my life.
I don’t need your advice.
I will fight and make your sight to me bright again.
I believe I will make my life flow.
By finding my own arrows, and make
An accurate and precise shot for my future.