The Poetteer

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 ....

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...

Hello Poetteers, Today's poem is about determination. Enjoy! Determination is the drive through obstacles to accomplish our goals and reach our dreams Our dreams are known, when we've spent time with ourselves, the truth is what we need We learn our needs are kept alive by determination and we let it lead us through life. by Fida islaih and Sahira Javaid Check out Sahira's latest poetry book , Crack of Dawn.  Stay inspired, Fida

Hello Poetteers,  I hope you enjoy today's poem.  Dancing For Joy Dancing with my friends, I discover my body: I'm twirling under the lights, electricity fuelled limbs I watch their hips sway arms pumping the air - following along I am not as smooth, but my smile fills the room, hits the roof, bounces off the ceiling I was afraid of showing skin my body always aches to feel whole but I don’t feel it tonight it’s all about seeing the joy in our eyes: When I dance I am transcendent, And in my laughter, I find self-love. By Fida Islaih and Isabelle Kenyon Isabelle has a poetry book published called 'This is not a Spectacle'. Stay inspired, Fida