Towerhill Reclaimed (ACE)

On 19th April 2011, students from the junior college section, as well as members of the HCI Young Editors Club-Ephraim Tan,Lee Kah How and Joel Zhang, released their latest publication, Towerhill Reclaimed, an anthology of poetry.

The book composes of poems written by Hwa Chong students, and are gathered from students from both the High School and College section. This, allows us to identify the poem as it is written by people of the same age group as us. Themes that were written in Towerhill Reclaimed are about war, estopia era... These poems show how literature have grown in recent years in Hwa Chong, as it is the first published athology in Hwa Chong.

One such poem found in this anthology is entitled "This Old House". It was written by Joel Zhang and was inspired when he saw the urn of his grandfather's ashes. It is about how when a chinese man dies, his culture is brought along with him. While reading it, many emotions could be felt, due to the wide range of figurative language used.

They also gave tips on how to become a writer. The main point was to never give up writing. One would never fail unless they give up. Topics of writing were actually inspired by things in their everyday lives, and through writing about these topics, it motivates them to be a better writer. It takes time to be a good writer, but even so, one should not give up.

The anthology Towerhill Reclaimed was also sold out to those who wanted to get their hands on the copy of the book. It was sold at $10 per copy, and all proceeds would go towards the victims of the japan earthquake. However, a student asked why it was not given free to all Hwa Chong students? The reply was that one would feel a sense of responsibility if they had spent their own money to buy a book, and thus appreciate it even more. Overall, I thought that this event was very meaningful, and I got to learn a lot about how Hwa Chong progressed in literature, and about the process of composing the poems and publishing the anthology.