Mona Aljanahi here.

Poetry Friday consists of wonderful people (teachers, librarians, authors, poets, book lovers) from the blogosphere who are committed to sharing life-nourishing poems every Friday. It is hosted voluntarily by various people every week. As explained by Mary Lee Hahn here, it serves as “a gathering of links to posts featuring original or shared poems, or reviews of poetry books. A carnival of poetry posts. Here is an explanation that Rene LaTulippe shared on her blog, No Water River, and here is an article Susan Thomsen wrote for the Poetry Foundation.” 

A special thanks and shout-out to Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect for hosting this week.

Constellations Of Home: #100DaysOfWriting

Poetry by: Asma Al Jailani Illustrator: Ashwaq Abdullah Published by: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (2017) ISBN: 978-1546744795 (ISBN10: 1546744797).

I first knew Asma Al Jailani as an avid reader. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but Asma and I were friends on Shelfari back in 2010 (or maybe even earlier). Shelfari was a web 2.0 social website similar to now-Goodreads. Users were able to construct virtual shelves containing their most beloved books. The website also allowed users to engage with one another and express their opinions about books in a variety of ways, such as through conversations, ratings, private notes, and more.

From Shelfari, I started to follow Asma on Twitter, now called X, and witnessed her writing endeavours with the Untitledchapters, a social network run by and made for Emirati women writers. It was through Asma’s posts on the Untitledchapters that I saw the depth of her talent with words. The following is an email interview with Emirati poet and writer, Asma Al Jailani (AAJ).

Tell us about your journey into Poetry. How did it find you?

AAJ: Growing up, I was not into poetry. I always thought that it was too complex for me to grasp its meaning—associating it to Shakespeare or old English. When I was younger, I always identified myself as a prose writer, so I never imagined myself crossing the line to poetry.

Listening to music would have been the closest thing to interacting with poetry. The use of words in the lyrics, the depth of meaning conveyed, the imagery it evoked—it still captivates me to this day.

Later with the popularity of social media, and particularly Instagram, I came across poets on the platform, sharing what is now defined as stream of consciousness poetry, along with beautiful aesthetics. I loved reading them and would marvel at the use of words and the emotions it held.

It’s quite astounding how social media suddenly heralded the age of instant online communities. Among them the challenges shared—for example, in 2014, a challenge which was quite popular at the time was “100 Days of Happiness”, which had users share moments of happiness consistently for 100 days.

At the time of this challenge, I was in a corporate job, which kept me from my writing practice. The lack of expression created a sense of loss within me—it felt like a break from my long-term identity as a writer. I thought to myself, if this challenge is to share what makes one happy, then for me, it’s writing. So, I started the “100 Days of Writing” challenge for myself. Joined with one of my friends, the idea was to write and post on Instagram for 100 days straight.

The first few days of the challenge was one-off vignettes of prose—sharing short scenes or thoughts. It didn’t take long for the writing to evolve structurally into verses and then stanzas.

At the end of 2014, I experienced a personal loss, and it felt like the only outlet was poetry. I believe that was the moment it found me. To give me a new way of expressing myself and to be comfortable in sharing the streams of consciousness that runs through me.

Whose poetry, whether it be domestically or elsewhere, has impacted your work?

AAJ: Honestly, because I saw myself as a writer, my main form of learning was reading novels—and there are so many novels that were told so beautifully I still remember them—for example, Symphony by Jude Morgan—this novel presented such a colorful way of telling stories.

On Instagram, there were “Instagram Poets” who shared stream of consciousness pieces about love, survival, perseverance and resilience—sometimes even about giving up. It created a movement in the UAE, and a number of poets at home started adapting the same style, then changing it slightly for the meaning to connect better at home.

I’m still amazed by the power of social media, how close it brought the domestic writing community together, and then helped them stand out in their own way.

Which of your poems was the most difficult to write emotionally? Could you share a stanza from one of your own poems that you really feel strongly about?

AAJ: I mentioned at the beginning that I experienced a personal loss. A very close friend of mine had passed away after overcoming cancer—something that no one was prepared for. It was such a shock, that the only way I knew how to grapple with it was through writing poetry. Most of what I wrote from 2014 onwards was a grieving process. Here’s a small example:

There is something about standing

In old places, without old friends.

Déjà vu gone horribly wrong, a

Time-warp of the worst kind…

(Published in the poetry book Constellations of Home).

I normally don’t remember the source of my emotional outbursts when it comes out in writing, but when it comes to grief and loss, I remember exactly whom I was grieving.

Share with us some of your thoughts about poetry in the UAE. What is it like being a poet here in the UAE?

AAJ: Every person has a different experience being a poet in the UAE, so I can’t speak on behalf of everyone. There are also many types of poets—there’s slam poetry, there’s the usual stream of consciousness, there’s poetry with music—it’s so incredibly diverse, and I feel one doesn’t know about it unless they’re in it.

My personal experience of being a poet has been one of surprise. I was lucky to be supported by my family when it came to writing, and it continued with poetry. I was surprised and taken aback when people reacted to my poetry, praising it or identifying with it—it always blew me away.

I was lucky to be invited to perform a number of times or to include my poem in anthologies. I’ve began appreciating Arabic poetry by UAE poets, like Amal Al Sahlawi—language so poignant and deep, my words in English pales in comparison.

There is always a space for poets in the UAE. There’s a lot to express and share and contribute in terms of the collective human experience.

Are there specific goals or projects you hope to pursue?

AAJ: I wish I could do all the writing goals! For now, I’m in the middle of planning my first novel (research and plot structure!). I also want to go back to writing short stories and publishing them on magazines—that’s also its own research and structure planning!

Honestly though, I just hope I can keep writing for as much as I can—including poetry.

What advice would you give aspiring poets?

AAJ: When I started posting my poetry, I didn’t think I was good. I didn’t think people would care, but I knew I did it for myself, and what I needed at the time was to just write.

And that’s what you need to do—just write, no matter what.

For Poetry Friday today, we are sharing a page from Constellations Of Home: #100DaysOfWriting by Asma Al Jailani:

#Day12

It is only hard,

When you allow yourself

To be bent

So far back that the

Notion of straightening to your glorious self

Is unthinkable— even to you.

 

Once down, stay down,

Or so they expect.

 

Forgetting Nature’s rule:

Surely what is bent by force

Whips right back up with

 

A powerful surge.

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About the Poet Asma Al Jailani:

Asma Al Jailani is an Emirati writer and poet based in Abu Dhabi UAE. Her first published work is the poetry collection, Constellations of Home in 2017. The following year she published her short story “The Falling Year” as part of an anthology, November Falls, with Zimbell House Publishing.

In 2022, Asma was one of the participants of the Marie Claire Perform Awards, where poets recited poetry inspired by the shortlisted perfumes. Her poem, A Name Obscured, inspired by Louis Vuitton’s Fluer de Désert, was recognized during the event.

Asma is currently working on her first novel, as well as several short stories. She also writes articles on Medium.com on a range of topics, including personal growth and women empowerment.

When she isn’t writing, Asma fills her days learning piano, rescuing cats, spoiling her own cats, traveling, and consuming stories in any form of medium.

Asma graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the American University of Sharjah, and an MLitt in Museum and Gallery studies from University of St Andrews, with nearly a decade of experience in the field of communications.

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About the Guest Contributor for #UAEReads:

Dr. Mona Humaid Aljanahi is an Assistant Professor and serves as the Vice Dean at the College of Education in United Arab Emirates University.

She holds a Ph.D in Curriculum & Instruction with a concentration on Language & Literacy. Her research interests include literacy education, pop culture, language learning, language arts, and academic integrity. Her research studies have been published in Q1 Scopus indexed journals.

She is currently an active reviewer for peer-reviewed international journals. Additionally, she presented at numerous national and international conferences on various topics in her field.

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#UAEReads strives to be reflective of the diverse demographic population that makes up the country of the United Arab Emirates (see Global Media Insight source of demographics as of 2024). Hence, we will be featuring literature coming from the major nationalities comprising the entire country: Emiratis, Pakistanis, Indians, Filipinos, Egyptians – and other nationalities who have made the UAE their home.

About the Guest Editor/Curator for March 2024 [#UAEReads]:

Myra Garces-Bacsal has served as a teacher educator for 15 years and has led several research projects on reading and social emotional learning, diverse picturebooks and teacher practices, psychology of high creatives and exceptional people, culturally responsive and inclusive education. She is a quintessential lover and creator of booklists (see her Social and Emotional Learning bookshelf here and other publications below). Myra serves as the Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies with the College of Education, UAE University. She is a self-proclaimed nerd who lives and breathes books and enjoys organizing events and festivals where fellow nerds converge and attempt to joyfully change the world.

Publications on booklists:

Garces-Bacsal, R. M., Alhosani, N. M., Elhoweris, H., Tupas, R. (2023). A diverse social and emotional learning booklist for gifted learners and advanced readers. Roeper Review, 45(1), 25-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2022.2145397

Garces-Bacsal, R. M., Alhosani, N. M., Elhoweris, H., Al Ghufli, H. T., AlOwais, N. M., Baja, E. S., & Tupas, R. (2022). Using diverse picturebooks for inclusive practices and transformative pedagogies. In M. Efstratopoulou (Ed.), Rethinking Inclusion and Transformation in Special Education (pp. 72-92). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-4680-5.ch005

Garces-Bacsal, R. M. (2021). Of grit and gumption, sass and verve: What gifted students can learn from multicultural picture book biographies. In S. R. Smith’s Handbook of giftedness and talent development in Australasian Pacific (pp. 431-453). Singapore: Springer International Handbooks of Education. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-981-13-3041-4_18

Garces-Bacsal, R. M. (2020). Diverse books for diverse children: Building an early childhood diverse booklist for social and emotional learning. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 22(1), 66-95. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798420901856