Scotch College

Literature comes alive

The Literature Club was formed last year and meets every Friday at lunchtime. Originally known as the Friday Club, we have transformed the name to something more appropriate to the subject of our interest. The club is a co-curricular library programme for those boys who are interested in literature and gives them a chance to talk about books and discuss authors.

Last year we were involved in a number of activities both inside and outside Scotch. We went to see a production of 'Toad Rage' (a book by Morris Gleitzman) at the State Library and had the chance to meet the author and ask him questions about how he writes and about the book itself.

Three boys were also given a chance to meet Paul Jennings at a book launch at the end of last year. This was a great experience for the boys, who were selected by answering a number of questions about Paul.

The Club is also allowed to purchase books for the library. We either go out to a bookstore during the term with a set amount of money to spend, or a bookseller brings books to us. We have also had two video and pizza nights, where we watched a movie in the library, had dinner and got to know the other boys in the club.

This year we will perform a number of 'bookgigs' for younger boys in the Junior School

Stephen Herrick, poet and author, will be talking to us about his books in the first term. This will be a good opportunity for us to expand our knowledge of Australian authors and poets.

It can be hard for those boys interested in literature to be able to enjoy it, when not all around them share the same interests. Boys at Scotch need to learn to show respect for each other and I think that there needs to be an acknowledgement that there are many diverse interests among them. The Literature Club is a good example of this.

Cameron Algie, Year 11