Congratulations to our SNaPS (Sunway National Poetry Slam) finalists, Aaliya who placed 2nd in the Junior category, and Anandita who placed 1st for Senior. Here they tell us about the competition and their experience.
"The Sunway National Poetry Slam (SNaPS) 2020 was evidence that creative expression will persevere even in the face of a pandemic. With the theme “Voices Of Change”, it began in October with students representing over 40 schools all over Malaysia in the Junior and Senior categories.
We attended a workshop with a featured poet giving tips on poetry writing and delivery, following which participants had to write and record a 3 minute poem, first for an online round on YouTube, and then performing a new piece live at the Grand Finale on 20th November.
We couldn’t have been prouder to represent KLASS in both rounds, and it was definitely a most liberating and exciting experience, with Aaliya being awarded Second Place in the Junior category, and Anandita 1st Place for Senior.
We are so thankful to Ms. Phillips and Ms. Miles from the English department for taking us through the entire thing - from enthusiastic email updates, reassuring voice notes on our poem documents, their constant support and encouragement made us treasure the experience!
Poetry is a beautiful art form
Drafting and redrafting a poem can be exhausting, but the effort was worth it when it all came together. There can be lots to consider - time limits, pace, inflection and tone, rhyme and rhythm, when recording. We love poetry because of its ability to move people, to allow them to empathise and feel each other's experiences through words and sound, and that’s why this year's theme stood out to us as topics we could explore were unlimited. Anandita talked about the urgency for us as a generation and a society to awaken to the threats against collective humanity, and Aaliya’s poetry addressed some of the struggles teenagers face collectively against a harsh society.
Poetry is a beautiful art form, one that is often overlooked and under-appreciated outside of the classroom, and that’s why this experience - where over a mic and through a screen, the poetry of students all over the country was still able to change narratives, inspire, and even bring to tears - was above all a hopeful one."
Congratulations again to both Anandita and Aaliya, and thank-you for sharing your experience.