The Poetteer

Hello Poetteers, We are reaching the last week of 2018. I wanted to share my thoughts on the last few poetry books I’ve read. I love vulnerable poems that share personal experiences. I’m tired of vague poems about love. You’ll see that below. November From 14 to 41 by Suzanne Purewal 3.5 stars Some pieces were sweet and empowering. I love the pieces about nature and can relate to some of the sorrow. Though, the romance isn’t my style. I also enjoyed the imagery in the poems and the illustrations. December Shame Is an Ocean I Swim Across: Poems by Mary Lambert 5 stars This is powerful and heartbreaking as Mary shares personal thoughts and experiences about heavy topics. I appreciate the glimpses of self love. Soft Thorns by bridgett devoue 3. 5 stars This feels like an average collection filled with vague love poems. The pieces that stood out to me are the ones of heartbreak and healing. What are you currently r

Hi Poetteers, You are probably writing a poem or book right now. First and foremost, when you’re done writing take a break and step away from it. Look at it later with fresh eyes. Save the older draft if you want to go back to it. Here are some editing tips. Read your poem aloud. Read it without the first line. Read it without the first stanza. Read your poem without the line or stanza you feel unsure about. Read your poem backwards. Last but not least, get a second/unbiased opinion. Do you want to work with me? Check out my poetry services page and fill out the form. stay inspired, Fida

Hi Poetteers, We love writing our free verse poetry but at times we get too comfortable and maybe even stagnant. To get ourselves out of that, we have to challenge our poetry. Here’s a few ways ti do that: Try a new poetry form. For example: haiku, epigram, and cinquain. Try a new poetic device you never used before. For example: alliteration, juxtaposition, or imagery . Use a unique writing prompt. For example: check out my book, Journey to Healing . Write a poem on a topic you never covered before. For example: look at older poems, maybe you never written poems about your body or about something spooky. Once you figure out what it is, write it. It’s okay if it’s bad and you don’t like it. At least you tried. It’s about challenging you voice and looking for your voice. Write a poem opposite from what you usually write. For example: if you write light poems, write a dark poem. Set a word or time limit. For example: write a poem in 5 mins or write a poem in

Hello Poetteers, There are several poetry misconceptions and annoyances floating around social media. I want to talk about a few top ones. Poetry needs to be romantic. No, it doesn’t. It can be any emotion. Poetry needs to include rhyme end words. No it doesn’t. You can have your poem be rhythmic in other ways. Vague self love/positivity poetry: It sounds like a piece anyone can write. Make it specific with your own experience. Male “she” poets: It’s frustrating that male poets are writing about women’s trauma. I already shared my thoughts in this instagram post . Men should not be writing about female trauma or beautifying mental illness. “insta” poets: Poets on instagram is not any different from poets who don’t use social media. I like what Lang Leav said about this label, “This new and dynamic movement is sometimes referred to as ‘instapoetry.’ A label I personally believe is silly and makes no sense. Using a social platform to define a genre of writing is

Hello Poetteers, I always wondered about the role poetry played in Arab history. History Poetry held an important role in pre-Islamic society where the poet either praised a tribe or criticized other tribes. Mock battles in poetry where they would have one poet of one tribe get up and oppose a poet of another tribe in place of real wars. In a market town not far from Mecca, they would host a regular poetry festival where poets from all over Arabia would come to compete and recite their poems in front of judges. These judges were either a poet themselves or critics. "Each year the festival’s winning poem would be transcribed in golden letters and hung on the door of Ka’bah in Mecca for the whole year." Politics Through poetry, you can learn about the tribal history. Arab poetry shows us that art and politics are connected. "The tribes relied on poets to recount news and offer political commentary. They kept a record of triumphs, defeats, marriages, and deaths. The poem i

Hello Poetteers, Today is the relaunch of my blog! After 5 to 6 months of not blogging, I’m starting to miss it. What started as a personal blog slowly turned into a blog for helping poets. The website is now named ‘The Poetteer’. I created this space because I needed a place to thrive. I needed a space where I felt like I belonged. Poetteer is a name I created for our community. It is an encouraging group of writers and readers who are learning to be vulnerable in sharing their stories so that they and others don’t feel alone. I want to help readers learn about faith, other cultures, and vulnerability. Help spread awareness of mental health and chronic pain. Again, an encouraging space for Muslim, POC, and poetic voices.  I have big things in store for this project. For more exclusive content join my  email list .  Here's what I've been up to since February: I self-published Wilting Mind . I started a new poetry series called Culture Raised Me .  Leave a commen

Hello Poetteers, For a while now I’ve been coming to the point where I dreading blogging. I ask myself why I should repeat the information I already share in my newsletter. I have been blogging for almost a decade. I started when I discovered poetry and wanted a platform to share them. Eventually, my blog changed from original poems to poetry tips. I went from sharing on my blog to sharing on Instagram . And then the poetry tips moved to my newsletter . This is my last blog post. I feel it's stagnant. There is no growth/ it's not bringing anything. My focus has changed from my blog to my newsletter and PoetteerChat . I will always be writing poetry, sharing behind the scenes and poetry tips. The old posts will remain online. I am planning on repurposing the content. I hope we stay in touch. Stay inspired, Fida

Hello Poetteers, How do you figure out what to share and what to save for later: Save it if it fits with the theme for your poetry collection. Post what feels right at the moment, maybe if it has to do with current events. It can depend on the length and what it's about. I share the simple stuff and keep the fancy stuff for the collections. (Honestly, long stuff might not get much attention because people are just scrolling through quickly.) Maybe cut some parts of the poem and post those and leave the rest for later. You can get the PDF version of this for future reference. Stay inspired, Fida

Hello Poetteers, Recently, there has been a big conversation about submission fees. I don't like paying for submission fees. I don't get why you have to pay people to read your work. You are paying for a submission you aren't even sure will be published. The price deters me away. It can be hard to afford but the experience might be nice. I’ll pay submission fees if I fully stand behind the press itself. Whether there is a fee or not you have to research if the journal or publisher is legit. But I do understand that they have fees because that along with book sales it is what keeps the journal or publisher running. I have my own way to go about that and I want to share it with you. Read their submission guidelines. Check out which authors they have published. Read a previously published poetry book or journal issue to get a feel for their style. I appreciate that there are journals and publishers that will take your submissions for free. But the fees could

Hello Poetteers, As you may have noticed that I didn't continue with the 12 poetry collaborations of dec. I couldn't find enough people that wanted to participate. Next, last month was my 9th blog anniversary. But that's not what I'm here to talk about. My lifelong poetry affirmation is "my writing gives me clarity" but last year I had a specific poetry affirmation of "I will confidently take baby steps to share my vulnerability." I had confessed that I was scared to share vulnerable pieces and scared of my emotions to write. When I first started writing poetry and finding my voice I let myself feel different emotions and question myself. I had explored my culture and faith. Some poetry evolved after a few pieces. But then I found a comfortable space in poetry and stayed there. I didn't push myself to look even deeper. I loved writing and sharing "hope in reality" through my poems. I still do and will keep doing so. Yet I did