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Poetry Spotlight: ThePaintedLadySings

Hello Poetteers,

In this series I'd like to highlight my favorite poets. 



If you remember, a couple months back I highlighted the top ten poets you should check out. I had the honor of getting in touch with the lovely lady behind ThePaintedLadySings and interviewing her for you today.

FI: Hello PL! When and how did you get introduced to poetry? 

PL: I remember the first time I was completely mesmerized by a poem, in which I feel was the first time I was properly introduced to the world of poetry. I was listening to a TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson, who was giving a beautiful talk on education. At some point, he recited ‘The Cloths of Heaven’ by William Butler Yeats, and I was entirely hooked.

FI: I'll have to read that poem! What is your inspiration behind your poems?

PL: My hope whenever I write a poem is that a sense of hope, beauty and inspiration emanates from it.

As such, I try to derive inspiration from this hope to write my poems. I also genuinely want to pen down poems that feel sincere and which shout who I am as a person.


FI: What keeps you going back to poetry?

PL: Oh, simply the beauty of it. There is something about the language of poetry that always attracts me to it.

I love how words can be seamed together to form an overall picture that captures hearts.


FI: Do you write in one sitting or over a span of days?

PL: It really depends! Sometimes, I can successfully write poems at a single time and other times, I can’t, ha!

FI: Do you read your old poems?

PL: Totally, yes! After I’ve put my poems out there in the world, perusing them again allows me to be in the position of a fellow reader, instead of a writer. As a reader, I would want the words to leave me in awe, and the poem’s essence to touch my heart and senses. I genuinely hope to achieve this in every poem.

FI: Who are your favorite poets?

PL: If I were to list and describe poets and writers I adore in intricate detail, everyone here will be bored out of their senses! To save humanity from this boredom, I’d have to narrow the list to a few poets like W.B. Yeats, Rumi, Maya Angelou, Sarah Kay, Phil Kaye etc. Who doesn’t love Maya Angelou? Her work is timeless and will always be relevant to the pivotal issues the world constantly faces. She empowers, and her poems are filled with hope for a better day. Rumi’s poems always remind me of love, be it a romantic one or love for oneself, which is so important! His words warm my heart and are just beautiful. I think Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye are redefining poetry today and they make poetry utterly cool yet lovely at the same time. If I could add one more poet/ writer I adore, it will be Yasmin Mogahed. Her work, to me, encompasses wit, intelligence, encouragement, hope and beauty that is simply astounding. Spoken word poets like Boonaa Mohammed and Hamda Yusuf are groundbreaking and leave a blaze of magnificence. I wasn’t kidding when I said I could write out a thesis worth of content when it comes to discussing poets, ha!

FI: Haha, well thanks for coming! You can find ThePaintedLadySings on Instagram. 

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Stay inspired, Fida 

Comments

Crystal Collier said…
Yay for awesome poets! I admire anyone who engages in the art. It's such a unique and truly artistic pursuit.

Crystal Collier

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