Poetry need not be consigned to book graveyard

LEI HAIWEI, a migrant worker, who works as a courier in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, won the Chinese Poetry Competition, a TV show on the Voice of China, last week, after defeating a postgraduate majoring in the Chinese literature studies from Peking University in the final. Beijing News comments:

Many people said the result was a surprise, as they did not expect a migrant worker to know anything about poetry. But poetry is not exclusive, and is accessible to everyone.

Interest is the best teacher. The 37-year-old Lei, an obsessive fan of Chinese poetry since childhood, has dedicated most of his spare time to reading poems and studying poetry.

Although he did not go to college, he satisfied his interest in poetry in his spare time by going to bookstores every weekend to read poems, which he then wrote down from memory after returning home, then on his next visit to the bookstore checking to see he had remembered correctly.

In this way, he has not only learned many classic Chinese poems by heart, but also written poems inspired by his daily life in traditional Chinese characters, a rare skill based on deep understanding of the language, characters and history.

Lei might be an exception among couriers. But that is no reason to assume that migrant workers have no interest in literature.

Poetry may be unnecessary in the lives of many, but Lei has shown that it can speak to anyone. It can be used to understand both ordinary and trying days, and may even inspire people to pick up a pen themselves.