How Literature Changed My Life

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Literature like many others things didn’t make much sense when I was young. I grew up in a country where literature seemed to be non-existent or just buried within heaps of school textbooks which forced a generation of Nepalese kids to put creativity in the shadows. However, moving to a country with such a rich literary past changed the story completely. Literature at first seemed foreign but once I started devouring books, it just became natural. For me literature bridged the gap between English and logic.
‘The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole’ by Sue Townsend, was the first book I ever read. It taught me about how literature can be painfully hilarious but also a scathing social commentary; which highlights the flaws of our society. Also the relevance
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It has become an integral part of my literary DNA. ‘On Poetry’ by Glyn Maxwell, elevated my understanding of poetry. In some extent it clear my understanding of what poetry is and what poets are. Similarly ‘The Autobiography of Red’ by Anne Carson changed my attitude towards how poetry can be written. It taught me poetry doesn’t just have to be something that rhymes and has a strong metre; poetry can have a narrative, it can be sensual, raw and emotive. Reading it about 3 years ago changed my perception of what poetry can be and it opened my search for other types of poetry. My fascination with poetry has also leaded me to choose an EPQ title of ‘Organise a poetry slam’. I have recently become intrigued by spoken word poetry, it excited me how recent of a medium it is and how much impact it has already had. Like any art form, poetry has transformed to respond to the world at large. The emergence of spoken word poetry is extremely exciting; by choosing to do such an EPQ it promotes literature, specifically poetry to people who aren’t keen on traditional …show more content…
I volunteered as a school librarian; performing duties such as organising books, helping other students find books and promoting literature related events around school to raise awareness about reading and its importance. I also helped low skilled readers through paired reading to improve their reading skills. It also helped them gain confidence and appreciate reading. As well as that I have helped at my local English classes for Nepalese people; I assisted them by translating anything they couldn’t understand or just helping them with basic English skills. Similarly I organized charity events at my secondary school to raise money for the Nepal Earthquake in 2015, we raised about £500; even though I don’t live there and sometimes feel lost with my identity I’m still passionate about the state of my home country and its future. Furthermore, I have recently started writing for Cuckoo review an online art and culture magazine for the North of England which has helped me improve my writing and editing skills. All these experiences have moulded my decisions to study English

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