The Poetteer

Hello Poetteers, In the beginning of my poetry career, I had done a few poetry submissions. After doing those few submissions I saw their appreciation for my work and stuck with their magazines. I eventually stopped doing new submissions. Even after the old ones, I stuck to closed their doors. At the end of 2016, I picked up the poetry submissions again. All the poetry submissions were to literary journals. I never submitted to small presses. For a while, I didn't find ones that seemed trusting. Once I found a small press it makes me feel better to recognize an author they have published. I may start sending to presses. It's best to find them through Poets Market, P&W, etc. I’ve heard bad stories about poetry submissions. It never happened to me but then one caught up to me. I found a new literary journal and it was the first one I saw with the theme that it had. It's hard to find literary journals with that theme. I'm not mentioning which journal and theme...

Hello Poetteers, I'm grateful for this campaign . When I heard of it before I thought it was great but I thought I had nothing to say. Seeing other posts I realized I have things to confess but I'm scared of saying them. I missed the opportunity. As I shared more original poetry I felt stuck. I couldn't move forward unless I shared behind the scenes and truths. I started the series, Poet Confessions ( blog and IG ). After starting that I felt better. I could finally move forward. This time when The Imperfect Boss campaign  presented itself I jumped at the chance to be a part of it. I felt less alone. I saw myself in many of the fears other people expressed. I came up with more confessions than I shared. More came up as I shared the few you saw. I worried about sharing mine. I worried I would ramble. Maybe I did. I worried if I made sense. After this, I feel understood. Another layer of me was peeled back and seen. I love to reflect on the opportunities I take....

Hello Poetteers, The title is almost as important as the poem itself. Not all my poems include the title within the poem. And that's okay. I believe that sometimes the title of the poem should be within the poem. Together, it connects the two. It gives the reader an AHA moment. It shouldn't be put in there just for the fun of it. It has to add something to the poem. The title has to relate to or deepen the poem in some way or it will just seem repetitive. Speaking of repetitive, some of our original poems have the same title. If it's my own poems it's frustrating if they share the same title because then I don't know which one is which poem. If your poem does have the same title as someone else's poem there's nothing wrong with that. As you initially write the poem it's alright to leave it without a title or call it 'untitled' but do remember to add a title soon, so that you can distinguish between the poems. Also, you will know that the...

Hello Poetteers, As people read HER OLIVES I realized I should have added a glossary. Here are two new poems to help you better understand the other poems. Olives in Arabic is zaytoon Olives are this dark green color of brownish green of nature and it's fruit also used as an oil Olives are bitter but balances a meal Olives are from the Mediterranean and all the countries that border it it's the skin tone of people from that area. Olives are a symbol of peace. Za'atar is thyme a plant connected to the roots of Palestine Za'atar is a mixture of herbs to enjoy on bread baked similarly to pizza or dipped with olive oil or a seasoning for hummus. Love, Fida  I realized Her Olives should have a glossary, download it here . 

Hello Poetteers,  As a Muslim poet I love reading poems that show one’s faith in God whether they are a muslim or not. Even if not muslim you can feel their belief and strength for their faith. It is something you want and are reminded to keep in your heart. ibtasempoetry Rebeca of  blendmylove Sa'diyya of  sadiyyanesar   rosesoftheqalb keyballah seemeehearme   I have to mention myself: poetfida Stay inspired, Fida Comment: Do you know of any poets of faith that I should know of? Read More: Empowerment Poetry

Hello Poetteers, Today is the 3rd book anniversary of my poetry book, Her Olives ! With that, I give you a new poem. Traditional Dress She is given a gift of a dress and thought of it only as that loving the design on the cloth not knowing the depth of the embroidery  but she walks in tall and graceful her dress flows from her broad shoulders to her feet in black cloth the cloth of the chest and arms embroidered with colored threads called tatreez she comes to find each design hand stitched the variation in tatreez holds different symbols there is also variations of the traditional dress from different parts of Palestine She barely scratched the surface of knowing the stories behind the designs all with stories and history of Palestine. stay inspired, Fida I realized Her Olives should have a glossary, you can find it here.  

Hello Poetteers, I always see my poems become something different from the original idea. Sometimes the first stanza stays or I remove it because my poem ends differently than how it started. That change in topic of a poem is what gets me in a groove to write more poems until I have finally gotten down the original idea and how I pictured it. It's the best feeling when you get the original idea of a poem down in the first try. Sometimes it's not about a missed topic but about the wording. Some words don't give the meaning you want. Or they don't fit the rhythm, so you have to choose a new word or change/rearrange phrases/sentences. Do save the removed words and phrases for future works.  It can be hard to think of the right words. You have to keep writing until you get where you want to be. Writing poetry is a peaceful act for me but it's a relief when I get exactly what I want down on the page. My theme is faith and culture. It's carried throug...