Trade majors show literary talent in love poems

Alex Olah, an English teacher at the Qingdao-based China University of Petroleum, breaks down love poems by his students majoring in International Trade. [Photo provided to China Daily]

More than 50 students majoring in International Trade at the China University of Petroleum in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, were assigned a special, somewhat wacky project for homework in late May – write love poems in English with an international trade theme.

The unusual task was passed out by Alex Olah, an English teacher, in hopes of creating a light-hearted teaching environment, expanding the students' imaginations as well as opening an outlet for their inner feelings.

Olah asked the 56 students in his two International Trade major classes to compose acrostic love poems, with three lines and a maximum of 10 words, and of course, an international trade theme.

The idea for the assignment was inspired by a contest co-organized by the Shanghai-based Fudan University and Guokr, a Chinese science website, in May, which required contestants to write three-line love poems using science language and symbols.

"I saw the article in China Daily about the poem competition run by science students at Fudan University. We discussed the article in class, and the students said they would like to do something similar," said Olah.

"They felt that the examples of poems in the article by science students were probably quite clever but difficult for non-science people to comprehend. They were sure that they could compose poems that were both romantic and also understandable to the average person."

Based on Olah's criteria of an acrostic, each line must make up an acronym commonly used in international trade, which, in his words, is challenging but also an enjoyable exercise. In addition, it can be a good way for the students to show their love.

"As you know, most students dream of love in college, so many of them were very enthusiastic about this activity. It was a chance for them to express their inner feelings," he said.

There was actually no winner, according to Olah, who suggested that readers of China Daily pick one. The following are some of the best ones.