Fida Islaih's Blog, page 13

Storytime: Poetry Submission

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 for the sake of their privacy.

I revised a poem of mine and submitted to them. After emailing me saying my poem has been accepted they promised to send me a link when it will be live. Weeks have gone by and I never got the link. I had to go on their website to search for my poem. After finding it they had a different author listed for the poem. I reached out to them to bring up the misprint to their attention. I heard back quickly and was told she would forward my concern to the main editor. I never heard back. Again I had to search for it myself. They did fix it. And I didn't reach out to thank them because I didn't think they should get one for never having gotten back to me.

What do you think of the situation? 
Stay inspired, 
Fida 

Imperfect Boss Reflection

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.


I learned about myself. Some fears are interconnected. As I wrote those newfound confessions and looked back at the questions that were there to help guide us to come up with confessions, I came up with an action plan for myself.


I'm excited about the future! Stay inspired, Fida 

Repetitive Poetry Titles

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 most of the time 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 poem is completed.

"If someone's poem has the same title as mine, I can't really help it. There are only so many words to use. I wouldn't want to use a name of someone else's poem for my poem if I knew of it; I would think up my own instead." @FebruaryGrace.
Stay inspired,
Fida
Comment: How do you feel about several of your own or someone else’s poems with the same title?

Read More: How I Title My Poems | Poetry Title Formulas

Poems: Za'atar and Zaytoon

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 Arabicis zaytoon
Olives are this dark green colorof brownish greenof nature and it's fruitalso used as an oil
Olives are bitterbut balances a meal
Olives are from the Mediterranean andall the countries that border itit's the skin tone of people from that area.
Olives are a symbol of peace.

Za'atar is thymea plant connected to the roots of PalestineZa'atar is a mixture of herbsto enjoy on breadbaked similarly to pizzaor dipped with olive oilor a seasoning for hummus.
Love,Fida 

Poets of Faith

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.
ibtasempoetryRebeca of blendmyloveSa'diyya of sadiyyanesar rosesoftheqalbkeyballah seemeehearme I have to mention myself: poetfidaStay inspired,Fida
Comment: Do you know of any poets of faith that I should know of?Read More: Empowerment Poetry

Her Olives 3rd Anniversary

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 

Changing A Poem

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 removes 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.

Stay inspired,
Fida

Comment: Does that happen to you?
Read More: Poet Confessions | Never Wrote A Sonnet

Curse in Poetry

Hello Poetteers,

I don’t curse in my own poems and don't like reading it in other poems. In other poems, I may give an exception.

Curses in poetry take away from the poem. I skip over it. They feel like something extra. It's unnecessary. I don't like it but there are exceptions to that. If there is a reason for it and I can't see the poem without it then the cursing is okay.

It sometimes works in spoken word. Curses have to be used sparsely. More than three is too much. Curses may give raw emotion or add emphasis the poem needs to show emotion. There are pieces where cursing fit the author's voice.
Comment: What do you think about cursing in poetry?

Read More: Putting my Beliefs in Poetry | Poet Confessions

Stay inspired,Fida 

Top Ten Tuesday: Empowering Poems

Hello Poetteers,

For today's top ten Tuesday I'm sharing ten empowering poems. There are many more out there for you to find. Keep the hope and the fire in your hearts. 
Find B. Oakman on Instagram. 
Find Anna on Instagram . 
Find Ava on Instagram. 
Find Rupi Kaur on Instagram. 
Find Lang Leav on Instagram. 
Find Christina on Instagram.  

Find Salma on Instagram. 

Find Alison on Instagram. 
Find J.R. Rogue on Instagram. 
Find me on Instagram

Stay inspired,
Fida 

Hack Your Poetry

Hello Poetteers,

Writing and editing poetry can be simple. You can "hack" poetry.

Writing Poetry Hacks
Start with a title: I haven't tried it, so I don't know if it works.Write a "found" poem: take words, phrases, & passages from other sources & reframing them as poetry.Word association exercise: pick a word and write everything that comes to mind. Pick your favorites and rearrange into a poem.Choose to write a shape poem. You will already have a subject & visually appealing.Acrostic: Write about the word you choose and you already have a title. Book Spine Poetry: pick several book titles and arrange them into a poem."Transcribing poetry from admired masters can help, too, I've found. It's more visceral than reading." from @abetterjulie.Situate yourself away from noise and distractions. 
Editing Poetry HacksRead aloud.Try removing or moving around stanzas. Start reading without the first line. In the second read, read without the first stanza and go from there. Repeat until you've reached the end of the poem. Sometimes the first stanza stays or I remove it because my poem ends differently than how it started.Replace or rearrange words.Go through and try to get rid of any extra adverbs. They mean you need stronger verbs. Do you know of any poetry hacks I haven't mentioned? 
Stay inspired, Fida 
Read More: Poetry Hacks