A Phenomenal Dictionary

Javier Naranjo is a Colombian poet who decided to do creative writing workshops with children from 3 to 12 years old. At first it was a game of shared imaginations. However, while developing his work, Javier noticed that behind the naivety of the children there was an enormous wisdom.

He found that the little ones were capable of extracting the most genuine and, at the same time, the most true of all the realities they encountered. His way of saying also contained poetry. That is why Javier Naranjo decided to make a dictionary with the boys. He asked them to define, in their own way and only in their own way, different words.

The result was a book entitled “House of the stars”, which was awarded by the Ministry of Culture of Colombia and has become a compendium of knowledge and poetry at the same time. Here are some of the definitions that the children shared with the author of the book.

ADULT : Child who has grown a lot (Camilo Aramburo, 8 years old)

LOVE : The one that each heart gathers to give to someone (Lina María Murillo, 10 years old)

DRUNK : They are more or less people who want to kill (Nelson Ferney Ramírez, 7 years old)

SCHOOL : House full of boring tables and chairs (Simón Peláez, 11 years old)

BODY : It is a face that moves, laughs, saddens and feels lonely (Mary Yuly Vera, 10 years old)

GOD : He is a person who manages us with a remote control as if we were his slaves (Juan Esteban Ramírez, 9 years old)

SPIRIT : It is the second body that lives in death (Andrés Correa, 9 years old)

FAMILY : It is a meeting of a lifetime (Jorge Iván Soto, 8 years old)

WAR : People who kill themselves for a piece of land or peace (Juan Carlos Mejía, 11 years old)

HOME : It is where one dies (César Andrés Miranda, 6 years old)

CHURCH : Where one is going to forgive God (Natalia Bueno, 5 years old)

GAME : It is to be happy and loving (Ricardo Mejía, 10 years old)

LOCO : Sentimental person (Héctor Alonso Arcila, 12 years old)

RAIN : It’s Jesus urinating (Alejandro Mazo, 9 years old)

TEACHER : He is a person who never tires of copying [on the blackboard] (María José García, 8 years old)

DEATH : It’s when we can’t stand it (Daniel Castro, 7 years old)

NATURE : I have not been there (Yeison David Pérez, 6 years old)

CHILD : It is a man’s toy (Carolina Álvarez, 7 years old)

HATE : It is the worst virtue that human beings have (Jorge Alejandro Zapata, 12 years old)

WORD : It is where the pigeons hide (León Alfonso Pava, 11 years old)

SIN : It is when a person commits an immortal sin (Alejandra Milena Agudelo, 12 years old)

POET : It is a country that does not exist in life (Gloria Cecilia Guzmán, 9 years old)

POLITICAL : He is a person who ends us or helps us, it depends on his economic situation (Pastor Ernesto Castaño, 11 years old)

PRINCE : Royal bum (Eulalia Vélez, 12 years old)

RHYTHM : It is when you bring the current to music (Víctor Alfonso Soto, 7 years old)

SILENCE : It is when one is in eternity (Leidy Stella Arango, 10 years old)

EARTH : Cement of meat from where the man was born (Alejandro López, 9 years old)

UNIVERSE : House of stars

Image courtesy of Cindy47452