On 1 December 2023, we were honored to have Ms. Irene Bennett, an experienced writer and the winner of Proverse 2022, sharing her journey of writing her book “Battle of Artisans: The Bells of Marquis Yi”. During her presentation, she discussed the techniques of creative writing with our S4-S6 students. After this fruitful and informative talk, Ms. Irene Bennett engaged in a meaningful exchange with the students about her various life experiences, such as her love for Chinese culture and her favorite areas of Hong Kong. The students greatly benefited from the talk. To conclude the event, we presented her with a model of the bell as a token of gratitude.
Ms. Irene Bennett Facebook Post:
https://shorturl.at/BHS35
Here are some of the students’ reflections:
“Author’s Talk with Irene Bennett — A truly eye-opening experience
The LTPSS Library regularly invites authors to our school to hold engaging talks with students during English lessons. On 1st December, our school was lucky enough to invite Ms Irene Benett, author of Battle of the Artisans, to share her experiences and insights into the creation of this novel, which I was fortunate enough to listen to.
Battle of the Artisans is a historical fiction about a father and a son, and provides a persuasive and well-researched (albeit, fictitious) answer as to why the Bells of Marquis Yi were created.
In the talk, Ms Bennett shared how she first came across a book about the Bells of Marquis Yi — a large set of bells that were unearthed in an ancient tomb in Hubei, China. The history of these bells is shrouded in mystery; no one knows exactly where and why they were made. This captivated Ms Bennett, and from there the ideas that eventually became Battle of the Artisans were born. Although I’m not much of a historical fiction reader myself, I do enjoy learning about history. This author’s talk was particularly special since we were also given a brief Chinese’s history lesson!
As an avid reader and an enthusiast of conversations with authors, I stayed behind after the talk to ask Ms Bennett some questions. Whenever I get the chance to talk to authors, my favourite question is, “What pieces of literature inspired you the most or mean a lot to you?” Ms Bennett responded to me about how memorable the play version of Les Misérables (a famous story set during the French Revolution) was for her. In particular, she recounted how the story changed the perspective of an acquaintance of hers for the better after she invited him to watch the play.
Ms Bennett said, “Literature has the power to change lives.” I believe that this is a message that more people should bear in mind nowadays.” – 6S (4) Sadie Gardiner Aurora
“Ms Irene Bennett truly stands out as an exceptional author! Her dedication to research and genuine curiosity for Chinese culture and history really sets her work apart from the rest. Her book named “The Battle of the Artisans" portrays the making of the Bells of the Marquis Yi. She provides a well-researched solution to the question of why they were made, which had gone unanswered for centuries.
During the talk, Ms Bennett went into depth about the importance of setting the scene with references to historical events. For example, she skilfully weaved her story around specific wars, ensuring consistency through the narrative. She also mentioned how the extensive research she did helped shape the narrative of the whole story.
This workshop was truly eye-opening. I’ll definitely be reading more of Ms Bennett’s works in the future!” – 4T (25) Singh Hashanbir