Poetry is closest to her heart

by Rosanne Koelmeyer Anderson

‘Of all kinds of ambition that which pursues poetical fame is the wildest : the interest of childhood and youth are often the interest of mankind’.

‘A step to be a poet’, a book of poetry launched recently by eleven year old Salome Fernando may be the quintessence of her aspiration to win the Gratiean Prize Award for poetry sooner or later.

Nurtured from the age of eight when she wrote her first poem ‘Who am I’; her innate talent and ingenuity have been distinctly revealed in her endeavour not only to compile a book of fifty poems but to design the book cover and pen sketches as well.

Salome’s inspiration to help less fortunate children with educational scholarships will be a dream come true with the sale of this book.With a flair for writing and composing, the young authoress is bent on making a name for herself as a poetess and writer.

An avid reader; Salome attributes her accomplishment to having inculcated the reading habit from her early childhood which broadened her horizon which helped her write on a wide range of topics from conservation of environment to personal tributes, appreciation of culture, religion, family ties and hobbies.

Having begun squiggling down short stanzas Salome’s interest grew from strength to strength with her mother as anchor to her success. ‘It was my mother who collected every little piece of paper I wrote poetry on and preserved my collection which enabled me to launch a book,’ she attributed.

The young budding poetess of Gateway International is amazingly talented in many a field. A gold medalist at the Sri Lanka Festival of Music, Dance and Speech 2007, pianist and singer; Salome’s love for the classics and compositions by Beethoven in particular is commendable.

Her dancing skills too took her to great heights in Kandyan dancing having represented Sri Lanka and performed a dance item “Swarna Rangan’ in Oman in 2004 not withstanding her passion for swimming which has brought her many accolades.

Being an artist as well,Salome believes ‘Loving kindness is greater than laws; and the charities of life are more than all ceremonies’. She was part of ‘Hands On Canvass Thirteen,’ an exhibition and sale of oil paintings by the students of the late Mrs. Sweenitha de Alwis at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery in 2006; a wonderful teacher whom she paid tribute to in her book of poetry whose memory is yet etched in her mind in so much that ten per cent of the proceeds of the thirteen artistes was donated to Ward No. 7 of the Kalubowila Hospital in memory of Mrs de Alwis while on a previous occasion donations were made by these students to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital.

Being an animal lover as well Salome was also spurred to obtain a membership at the Young Zoologist Association. But the benevolent and versatile introvert’s ambition is to become an architect and with writing being her passion Salome is presently engaged in writing short story books. After all, minds are like parachutes: they only function when open’.