The Poetteer

Hello Poetteers,  Poetry is not just something that is written. It can be something you perform. Practice is always recommended but when you're in the moment, it may still be shaky. Practice will help you get comfortable, confident and know your piece. I practice the words, not the emotion and emphasis. When it should be both. The nervousness gets in the way. That's something I need to work on. For example, you have an angry slam poem & since you're nervous, the anger isn't really there when you perform it. It's okay if you can't memorize the piece but do try. Have a copy of the poem with you on stage. Practice every day, three times a day, aloud, keep looking up to make eye contact. Practice in front of friends like it's the actual thing before the actual performance. There will most likely be other poets performing, sit back and listen, observe the crowd, and just take in the moment. Let yourself feel the nerves, but don't let it consume you....

Hello Poetteers, Since we are celebrating A to Z Poetry and my 4th author anniversary I thought I would share with you my first poems. The very first poem I wrote was when I was 5 about a doctor and a cat. While learning about poetry my first poem was about where I'm from. But that was a school assignment. I believe that piece set the tone and foundation for my writing career. That summer I wrote my first unprompted poem about my thoughts on Malaysia. The poems 'Writing Journal' and 'Sisters' were part of the first batch of poems written. Eventually, I tried spoken word. It was more of a poetry reading. My first one was part of a class assignment. I was nervous and quiet but being able to sit down helped calm me. What also calmed me was looking at a familiar face. After reading the first couple of lines I forgot the nerves and that an audience was watching me. I was feeling the poem. Afterwards, I asked a friend how I did. I was loud and clear. I didn't ...

What Is In A Name Your name is the love your parents have for you it is something you give life to be as strong as your name and live it up Your name has many meanings of what it is in another language it connects you to your homeland It gives others an image that touches their heart it gives you a love bigger than you Your name holds your heritage and culture it holds your heart it holds you. Stay inspired, Fida

Hello Poetteers, It is different from reading words on a page. You read and done with it. Performance stays with you. I love how I'm captured and moved. You feel the emotion along side them. You are able to feel the emphasis and power of the words. You get to quietly snap your fingers at your favorite parts. It adds to the performance, like it's part of it. My favorite online platform for watching videos of spoken word poetry is Button Poetry . *originally talked about on #poetrychat .  stay inspired, Fida

Hello Poetteers,   I haven't preformed spoken word but I want to. I've read out my poems a few times. Public speaking isn't my thing, it scares me. Before I go on stage it's nerve wrecking. With poetry I'm a different person. I don't run away from the opportunity. I enjoy it. Once I loosen up I'm loud and clear. I even surprise myself with my voice.  I don't let myself give it a second thought. I don't let doubt creep in. I even lead a poetry workshop once. It's exhilarating experience. It is something I want to do again.  I need to work on bringing the power of my voice through the words and emotion. I love hearing the silence and the snaps. The room is dimmed. It's a cool environment. It will be even better when I bring in all that I want to work on. *originally talked about on the # poetrychat . stay inspired, Fida

Hello Poetteers, Years ago I shared a video of a performance that moved me. It was a spoken word piece by Liza Garza. By mere coincidence my friend shared one of Garza's recent pieces a couple weeks ago. I was touched, again. Liza Garza is a poet, vocalist and songwriter. My Favorite Poems: My Everything  - The first piece I heard from her. I cried while listening. This is what I love about spoken word. You can show the emotion you have of the words you say. Dragonfly  - I read the written piece before listening to the spoken piece. It talks about what I believe in. Where You Can Find Her: Facebook | Instagram | Website stay inspired, Fida

Hello Poetteers, One of the things on my bucket list is to make a short film. This past week I've been filming clips here and there. It is cool to pick what goes with the poem. You get to be as creative as you want. No one else is behind you telling you if it works or not. I love the ability to experiment.  This is one of my favorite poems to have recored and I'm glad to do something special for it. I hope you enjoy listening and watching it as much as I enjoyed writing and making it. Behind the Scenes :  It takes multiple takes for you to get the right clip. I thought I filmed enough but last minute I had to do more filming. I scheduled a specific day for filming but the sky wasn't what I wanted so I hand to postpone my filming day. I had a different image in my mind when I first started but it change over the week of filming and it's better than expected.  Originally shared on my newsletter .  Let me know: Do you like short films? What d...

Hello Poetteers, It's time for my monthly recap! Look back at last month's:  January's Recap | Resolutions . Reading I read 2 poetry books, an anthology, a novel and a self help book. It is close to last month. It not as heavy of a read I'm still happy because I really love what I read. Writing I finished editing Louder Alone!! I finally came up with ideas for the four new manuscripts I want to write this year. I started outlining one of my ideas. Poetry One of my goals was to work on spoken word. I didn't exactly do that but it is close and similar. I am now on SoundCloud ! I have two pieces up already for you to listen to. I'm still keeping up with my color series on Instagram . Talking about IG, i think I finally got a theme for it. Personal Last month I was able to set in an evening routine. This month I tried to set a morning routine. The morning routine is called Miracle Morning that I read on the blog BohoBerry . If you haven...

Hello Poetteers, My third poetry collection, Hugs and Kisses is published! It is available in  paperback & kindle ! I'm finally getting back into journaling. Thanks to a new friend for inspiring me! A new chapter of my life has begun! Hopefully one thing it brings is more blogging and novel writing. Recently I've been more into poetry. I'm finally getting started on spoken word! I'm finally getting to promote my books! I have an order of bookmarks coming in! Thank you and love, Fida

Hello Poetteers, I've learned I need to be able to communicate when I need help. I need to prioritize and organize the things I need to do and what is most important. In the things I did, I enjoyed sharing my poetry as spoken word. To be able to do that, I have to conquer my fear of big groups and speaking. What stood out to me and will stay with me is the need to keep your nervousness at bay and that those nerves are not necessarily bad, you can use them to help you. *This post was shared on my class discussion board. I thought it was important enough to share here, too. I may do a one year recap to see if I improved. thank you, Fida

Hello Poetteers, Earlier this week book bloggers participated in a Top Ten Tuesday where they shared their bookish bucket list and I thought I should do one for poetry, so here goes! 1. Write a poem in every format: see  here . 2. Publish a poetry collection (I self published two books, A TO Z POETRY and HER OLIVES ) 3. Be a professional poetry editor 4. Do a poetry book signing 5. Do a spoken word performance 6. Make a spoken word album 7. Have a poetry section on my bookshelf 8. Lead a poetry workshop (I co-lead one at a camp) 9. Meet some poets 10. Make a poetry short film What do you have on your bookish bucket list? What have you crossed off? What should I add to mine? Stay inspired, Fida

Hello Poetteers, I'm on a spoken word kick. I've been watching so many videos of the performances. I came across this one. I love the rawness. I felt the emotion and cried. Liza Garza HBO Def Poetry "My Everything" Without Edits. stay inspired, Fida