Bulletin No. 1, 2015

12   Chinese University Bulletin No. 1, 2015 Chalk Poetry on Campus: The Power of Words B lackboard poems first appeared at the Wu Chung Multimedia Library of United College and Ch’ien Mu Library of New Asia College in September 2012. As its name suggests, a blackboard poem is a poem written on a blackboard. People were puzzled as nothing like that had been seen on campus before. A stanza of a poem, a blackboard and several pieces of chalk—these were all the organizers of ‘The Power of Words’ project had when they started the project. By handwriting poems all over the campus, they ignited passion for art and literature. ‘The Power of Words’ is a reading and writing project co-organized by the Independent Learning Centre (ILC), the Hong Kong Literature Research Centre, the Office of the Ar ts Administrator, and Tolopoem. Other supporting units include the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, the Department of English, the School of Journalism and Communication, the CUHK Library, and the CU Student Press . Then poems started appearing on blackboards, whiteboards and glass walls. The ILC, the Learning Garden of the University Library, the Elisabeth Luce Moore Library of Chung Chi College, the Architecture Library, the Learning Commons of the Wu Ho Man Yuen Building, the United College Student Canteen, and Sir Run Run Shaw Hall, the Faculty of Science building, among other locations, are designated poem-copying zones. ‘This was an incidental project. The idea came from casual chats between colleagues,’ says one of the organizers Dr. Vivian Chan , senior lecturer at the ILC. She said the Chinese University used to be a cradle for writers, but serious readers and writers are rare now. That’s why she decided to revive the tradition by launching a series of literary activities using a primitive method—by copying poems on blackboards. ‘In Minnesota’s capital city Saint Paul, there is an “Everyday Poems for City Sidewalk” project. Each year the government holds a contest to invite poets to contribute works to their collection. Selected works are engraved on the sidewalk. When I heard this, I began to imagine what something like this would look like on the University Mall,’ says Dr. Chan. Dr. Vivian Chan