By Mariah Quisiah

Grade 9 student Jeremie Lei Casanding was treated like a Nobel laureate, after being chosen as one of the thirty winners of the Poetic Heart writing competition. She expressed her poetic piece entitled “Unity in Division,” in front of distinguished poets on February 4, 2018.  265 students all over the UAE had submitted their poems.

While majority of the youth indulge in social media posts, Jeremie has other things in mind. She expresses her thoughts and consoles the readers through poetry. Casanding illustrated and addressed the dilemma of labels in modern society. It emphasized that presently, more and more categories are being made that could set humanity apart. According to her, this could  blind them of the bigger picture. “Categories shouldn’t set us apart; they’re just words,” she asserted.

“When trying to expose your works to the world, or at least the local community, start small. You can start shedding light and gaining attention by simply joining contests that welcome writers. Remember that if you don’t succeed for the first time, you can always give it another shot. Don’t lose hope,” she advised.

Poetic Heart is an event where selected students from across UAE unite under a poetry symposium. Students  create and recite poems about peace and harmony. They connect and share their expressions with the local community. “In today’s obdurately self-centric existence, this event is a gentle reminder to keep the poet within alive – nurturing values of righteousness, courage, altruism and optimism,” said Dr. Akash Keiji Ouchi, the SGI representative for South Asia and the Middle East.