Creative mind: Assoc Prof Jaco Barnard-Naudé has sharpened his poetry writing skills, and graduates with a Master's in Creative Writing.

As he is an associate professor of jurisprudence, many would expect Professor Jaco Barnard-Naudé to pursue further studies in his field.

But he had chosen creative writing, and is graduating with his master's, thanks to the encouragement of acclaimed poet Professor Joan Hambidge.

Barnard- Naudé has been writing poetry since his high school days. When he joined UCT he heard about the creative writing course, and that Hambidge, one of his favourite poets, supervises the MA in Afrikaans poetry. He immediately sent in a portfolio of his poetry.

"When I look at the poems I submitted for consideration to be accepted into the course, and compare them to the poetry I wrote under Prof Hambidge's supervision, I am astounded at how much my poetry developed," he said.

His thesis comprises the preparation of a collection of poems over two years with Hambidge and other students, and an academic essay on the relationship between philosophy and poetry in the context of Afrikaans poetry and literary criticism.

Barnard- Naudé is now preparing the poetry manuscript for submission for publication, and hopes to publish the essay as a series of articles in a peer-reviewed journal.