In this activity, teachers will use the practice of choral reading to help students experience the two different voices presented in the poem. Distribute Handout 1: Poem in Original Format. Using Handout 1, teachers may choose to assign the reading of the poem as follows:

Individual stanzas: Assign an individual student to read each stanza.

Footnotes: Assign a chorus (group of students) to read each footnote whenever it is referenced in the poem. These will come as interruptions to the reading of individual stanzas. This can range from a fixed group of students, to the rest of the class who are not reading the individual stanzas.

Post-reading Question

Teachers can address this question specifically to the students that read either section of the poem:

• Across both the stanzas and footnotes, what are the top three to five lines that are most impactful to you? Highlight them.

Teachers can invite students to share which ones they felt were the most impactful. What is important is that students experience the story of the poem. Students do not need to fully explain and justify themselves at this stage.

Teachers can share that in order to explore the possible reasons why they felt these lines were impactful, the class will learn together about the style and structure of the poem and its effects in Activity 2: Appreciating Style and Structure.

In this poem, the poet has used the practice of footnotes to structure the poem, a practice more commonly associated with academic essay writing than poetry.

• Footnotes are notes indicated in your text with numbers and placed at the bottom of the page.
• They are used to provide additional information that would otherwise disrupt the flow of the text if inserted directly.
• Footnotes and endnotes are used in printed documents to explain, comment on, or provide references for text in a document. Many people use footnotes for detailed comments and endnotes for citation of sources.

Before referring students to Handout 2, Activity 2B, give them time to read the poem in its original form (Handout 1) and the poem as presented on little red comma. Pay attention to the reverse reading format the poem is presented in on the site and the impact it has on readers. Afterwards, allow students time to think about the following.

a. What is unusual about the poet’s use of footnotes? Where possible, compare the original version of the poem with the version of the poem on little red comma, where the original footnotes of the poem are presented as the main text, and vice versa. Instruct students to write their response in the space provided in the handout.

Anaphora (pronounced “uh-naf-er-uh”) is a figure of speech in which words repeat at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences.

For example, Martin Luther King's famous I Have a Dream speech contains anaphora: "So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania..."

Why Do Writers Use Anaphora?
On the simplest level, writers use anaphora to give a series of repeated words emphasis. More broadly, anaphora can produce a variety of stylistic effects. It can:

i. Express a strong feeling.
ii. Create rhythm in text, whether that rhythm is pleasing, rousing, or relentless.
iii. Clearly connect two or more ideas through the repeated phrasing.
iv. Make a phrase more memorable for the reader/listener.
v. Give structure to a lengthy list.

b. Extending from these effects (i - v), what is one thematic significance of the poet’s use of anaphora in the footnotes of this poem? You can consider the theme of who gets to feel a sense of belonging as a Singaporean. Refer students to Handout 2: Activity 2B (column 2 & 3) for students to fill in their answer. 

In this section, refer students to Handout 2: Activity 2D. explain to students that writers use irony to show the contrast or incongruity between how things appear and how they are in reality. Irony can be categorized into different types, including verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony.

Explain to students that it is important to note that irony is not coincidence: If you buy a new camera and then accidentally damage it while filming a YouTube vlog, that is coincidental and unlucky, but not ironic. However, if a professional content creator known for their skilled camera handling damages their brand new camera, that is situationally ironic.

For Mustafa Centre: A Fact Sheet we will focus on situational irony. In literature, situational irony is a literary or plot device occurring when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what actually happens. Well known author Margaret Atwood briefly explains how writers employ situational irony as a literary device for various effects, such as:

i. Creating a surprise twist.
ii Communicate a message or moral.

By steering readers to an unexpected destination, writers can remind readers that an expected outcome is not always guaranteed. This creates a contrast between appearances and underlying truths. However, it requires a reader to read between the lines to understand its intentions. A reader who does not notice the irony will take the poem or story at face value. Refer to the handout for examples of each effect. 

Allow time for students to think about the following:

3. How does the poet use situational irony to communicate a message about who gets to feel a sense of belonging as a Singaporean?

Fill in their answer in handout 2.

In Literature, writers produce works with ethical invitations to explore narratives, histories and cultures that can expand a student’s understanding of the world. In this poem by Pooja Nansi, her focus is on Mustaq Ahmad, the founder of Mustafa Centre. Distribute Handout 3: Not Just a Footnote to students.

In small groups, discuss the following questions about the poem:

i. What significant events have affected Mustaq in the text?
ii. How does he respond?
iii. What are your feelings towards Mustaq as you learn of his experiences?

Students can fill in their answers in the handout provided.

Assign the following activity either as an individual, pair or group task. Refer to handout 3. Students to write a short response poem of at least eight lines from the perspective of one of the workers in Mustafa Centre who is faced with the closure of the Serangoon Plaza branch. In your short response poem, make use of the anaphora “not just a/an…” and end your poem with “We are not just a footnote.”