Development of adult creative writing: The role of child and teen writing

by M.B. Mathmaluwe

It is known that the Education Department has taken some positive steps towards the improvement of standards of English used in the country: one of them, of course, is the annual English Day in schools; but in addition, we are aware of other measures like competitions held regularly in Creative Writing, within the schools first, and later among schools, at which winners at school level are made to compete, on the results of which, trophies and certificates are awarded: needless to say, this is all very good and steps in the right direction. Competitions starting from the post-primary classes are held at school level, zonal level and at district level. What is not certain is whether these competitions are carried out in outstations as well, in the same manner in which they are carried out in and around Colombo. As regards creative writing by schoolchildren, though it has not received the appreciation it very much deserves, the encouragement and opportunity given for it by the major national newspapers they all carry a weekly 'Children's Page' and additionally, open their Sunday columns for teen writing, particularly for poetry perform an invaluable service.

There is, before me, a Collection of Creative Writing by two teenagers (Chatura and Thilina) studying in A/L classes, of essays, short stories and poetry, compiled into book-form, which deserves a comment for, they clearly demonstrate how imaginative youthful minds can be: the reader is continually astonished by the freshness of their thought; they tell in no uncertain terms, of another world belonging to them, colourful and fascinating, in which their minds seem to continually dwell. But before dealing with these writings in some detail, a few words may be said about the child's and the teenager's minds, so that the reader may peruse any youthful writing with better understanding and sympathy; also, in this regard, a word seems necessary too, on the role the teacher can play in it.

Young minds

Having come past a childhood and a teenage, adults do have some idea about the working of young minds: their interests, unlimited curiosity and restlessness; their heads are teeming with ideas and the colourful world they mostly roam, can be fascinating. Theirs is largely a world of imagination phantasy and dreams; this is the time when, in the growing youngster, his sensory perceptions are sharpest: like a tender reed that quivers to every slight breeze, his mind is ready to register experiences gained from his surroundings, human association as well as from nature and natural phenomena; the fear, however, is that the adult, in his 'wisdom', is often unable to appreciate this; true, they do get glimpses of this marvellous working of his mind, and might occasionally be astonished by the totally unexpected variety of his thought, as displayed in his words and deeds: children and, to a lesser extent, perhaps, teenagers live in a world of their own to which, sadly, adults have little access.

Innocence and imagination are the key words relevant to childhood: it is a world of fairies, demons, giants, magicians, witches and goblins; it is peopled by loving human beings; they are convinced, birds and beasts, like human beings, can feel, think and talk; it is a world of forests, flowers perfumes, bees and butterflies and of crimson dawns and golden sun-sets; it is also a time when realities of life like hunger, thirst and work and evils associated with humans, like anger, jealousy and revenge have not yet surfaced in their minds: they firmly believe that witches go riding on broomsticks and cows jump over the moon at night, when they are asleep!

Phantasies

Adults, of course, scoff and laugh at these phantasies of children and may even try to deprive them of this world, forgetting that without their efforts, children will soon outgrow this phase: none has expressed this thought better than the great English poet, Wordsworth; this is best done in his immortal poem, "Ode on Intimations of Immortality: from Recollections of Childhood".

"There was a time when meadow, grove and stream

To me did seem

Apparelled in eternal light."

And again:

"Heaven lies about in our infancy,

Shades of prison house begins to close

Upon the growing boy....

At last, now perceives it die away

And fade into light of ordinary day."

It is to this colourful world in which he dwells, that he tries to give expression in whatever medium he can, whether it be in words or in lines and colours: everyone knows that child art is a medium of expression that is recognised all the world over. How successful he is, of course he would be in this exercise, depends upon his own aesthetic sense and in his facility in handling his words or, if unable yet, to use words with any degree of proficiency, lines and colours. Whatever it may be, let it be remembered, he is engrossed in a serious creative process. Herbert Read, the great authority on art, refers to Tolstoy and Wordsworth and their concepts of creativity which Read says are identical; according to him, this is what Tolstoy says about creativity:

Verbal expression

"To evoke in oneself a feeling one has experienced and, having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movement, lines, colours or words, so to transmit that feeling....."

from: "The Meaning of Art". :P.185

Children too young to articulate their thoughts in words, can yet express them, as Tolstoy says, in lines and colours symphonies of sorts, where words are not merely superfluous but are inadequate. But whether they be in words or in lines and colours, for sheer freshness of approach and presentation, their impact on the viewer or the reader can, at times, be almost physical like the fresh breezes or the morning dew on the grass!

As they grow older, as teens, they will gather better proficiency of verbal expression and even a modicum of sophistication of statement, gathered from their teachers and their reading. This is the stage in their creative writing, they are being more and more influenced by modes of writing hitherto alien to them, in idiom, simile, metaphor and deployment of words. Now the tools of writing such as grammar, syntax, vocabulary etc., come in handy and a training in them is essential. This stage is crucial in the young creative writer's development and it is at this stage that the teacher has a vital role to play. He, however, has to be careful as to how he gets about it: he should avoid, as far as possible, getting between the young writer and his individual style of writing, which really is closely linked to his personality and his mental idiosyncrasies; it is his own and, the teacher would do well to avoid foisting his own or another's style upon the fledgling writer.

Just as Wordsworth says, a time comes when the child or teenager quits his world of make-believe where he had been hitherto dwelling, this is the time the young writer will look beyond the limits of his own mind: the importance of the teacher's role at this point can be incalculable. The teacher should open new vistas of knowledge and modes of writing hither to unknown to him; he should be led into new fields of experience; books and other reading material should be made available; he should be made to get acquainted with subjects his young mind can cope with. A balance should be struck between scientific cum technological material and material helpful to fostering human values. In recent times we have had the misfortune to witness science and technology dominating the youth' s mind at the expense of the humanities, thus atrophying an equally, if not more, important department of the process of development. Teachers also should open other avenues for the fostering of the writing habit: they can encourage students to contribute to the children's and teen-agers' columns in newspapers and to school magazines and wall-papers in schools.

Youth is the time of idealism; the teenager is yet unaware, or is not sufficiently aware, of the evils of the world deceit, fraud, crookedness, which adults know are the realities of the world. Idealists, as youth are, they are in the quest for truth, righteousness and justice and, of course, their writings will reflect these ideals. Then again, this is the time he begins to feel the first pangs of love and when he will build strong relationships and, this need not necessarily be with members of his her own sex; if there was ever an age of romance, this is it and, into it youth would take their first faltering, tentative steps: needless to say such experiences will necessarily colour their writings. He will speak of the ecstasies of fulfilment as well as of frustrations, the pitfalls and the agonies. Whatever the experience, it will make grist to the young creative writers mill. Let me quote from a short story in the book before, me of a girl trying to express her agony of her first love:

"Padma sat on her bed and hugged her teddy; she had never felt like this before a sense of isolation and hopelessness. Tears ran down her rosy cheeks; she cried slowly not wanting her parents to hear." This is not to say that this is either good writing or bad writing but, merely to show their interests and the state of their minds in this phase of their life, and her struggle to express herself.

To read these essays, stories and poems is really to read the teenager's mind with sympathy. The teacher who encouraged these young writers had made sure she did not come between them and their creative ventures in giving free rein to their thoughts, their hopes and aspirations, dreams of success at examinations and hopes of future employment and generally, of the world that awaited them outside the school gate when they are no longer within it. Nothing could be more to the point than the poem, "After the A/Ls".

Here is what the teacher (Ms. Padma Basnayake) who stood in the background and encouraged these young writers, has to say:

"When they asked me to read their work, I was careful no to come between them and their original styles, but I pointed out the obvious deviations from the norms of grammar, spellings, idioms etc."

She has said it right that, no doubt, is the role of the teacher, here.