Happy Monday everyone! This has to be my favorite way to kick off a Monday – besides being able to sleep in, that is. Welcome back to Poetic Justice for the second post of the month!
Poetic Justice is a month long event, beginning April 1st to April 30th in honor of National Poetry Month. Throughout April there will be interviews, guest posts, excerpts and other poetic posts. I hope you will follow along. To read the introductory post, read about my poetic background as well as the schedule for the month, you can find out more here.
Today I have Fariha Khayyam on YA Indulgences with an interview. Fariha has written one poetry collection titled Shards. Here is the summary from Goodreads.
This girl,
is shattered
and broken.Yet,
she fights back
to rise
and reform.This is
Her journey…
Her Shards…SHARDS is a modern-poetry collection.
It is about the journey of a girl as she struggles to come to terms with what she has endured. It is divided into four sections, where each section covers a major aspect of her journey. And how she gains the courage to stand up and give herself second chance at life and people. It explores various topics such as: solitude, abuse, racism, suicide, grief, and negativity.
Poetry has meant so much for me since I was a teenager, what does poetry mean to you?
Coming from a family whose mother language is Urdu, I often heard Urdu poetry quoted here and there. Urdu is often described as a poetic language, not only because it seems to have a rhythm when spoken, but also due to the legendary Urdu poets who have contributed to the language.
During school, I took a course called Anthology; that’s where I first got interested in art of subtly expressing various topics that might resonate with generations of any era.
How and when did you begin writing poetry?
While I got introduced to poetry earlier on, I never actually had any formal training. It wasn’t until much later, that I found myself writing it. My earlier pieces were all over the place. At that time, I never thought that I’d publish a poetry collection.
How do you go about creating a poetry collection?
When I first began writing, my poems were about random topics with no overall theme. I wanted to write about a topic I deeply cared about: Women’s Rights.
Fast forward five or so years, I had written many individual pieces with an overall theme to them. After many revisions, I was able to tell a journey of a girl, which I recently published.
Do you ever deal with writer’s block and if so, how do you deal with it?
I have it all the time! I usually take a break and go on hiatus, since I’m a self-published author, I never have to worry about any deadlines. During the break, I read a lot, partly to get inspiration, and partly to remember why I love writing as much as I do. Then I sit down to write, even if I know I would erase it all the next day.
What do you think about this sudden height that poetry has become as far as social media and publishing?
I think it’s great! Poetry is a medium in itself and it deserves to have some of the limelight too. I think poetry-sharing accounts (such as Artidote) and the recent reprints of Rumi were probably the first ones to initiate the interest in readers. Modern-poetry writers such as Rupi Kaur and Nayyirah Waheed were able to fuel the rising demand. Somewhere along the line, I too, got inspired to publish my collection.
If you were to describe poetry in one word, what would it be?
I guess I will describe it as ‘Expressive’. Poems can show the collective thoughts of that generation and it can be interpreted in several ways. Also, the language it is told in contributes heavily to what is being portrayed.
You have suddenly lost all writing you have ever done, what do you do now?
I can’t imagine that happening! I don’t have any option other than to get back to writing it again, do I?
Do you have any advice for someone struggling to write poetry?
Just let it flow. Poetry writing is a creative task. If you put limits on yourself, it will hinder the creative process. Just continue writing, don’t worry about how it sounds like at the moment. You just need to get it on paper right now, and eventually you’ll develop your own style and rhythm.
What has been your proudest writing related moment yet?
Well, getting published of course. I really didn’t think it would get such great reviews, handful as they maybe. It just means so much to me.
What works are you currently writing? How did you come up with them?
I’ve been writing two very different genres, one being Middle Grade coming-of-age romance, which I’m not entirely sure if I’ll publish right away since I’m writing it out of pure hobby, and other being Non-fiction Career-oriented self-help, which I hope to finish in the next year or so. It will be a personal milestone as I wanted to write it for a very long time. Meanwhile I also write short stories to improve myself further. You can find those on http://www.farihakhayyam.com/my-books/.
While growing up reading about dragons, magic and adventures, Fariha Khayyam had always wanted to write a book. As her love for reading grew, so did her dream.
She began nurturing her dream while completing her Masters of Business Administration from Loyola University Chicago, Illinois.
Based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when she is not writing, she is found reading fantasy novels or spending time on her social media.
You can find her on farihakhayyam.com.
Don’t forget to enter the giveaway by commenting or sharing today’s post or reviewing Shards. Thank you so much for participating, Fariha!
Leave a Reply