Copyright © 2024, Raidah Shah Idil. All rights reserved.
I’m thrilled to be part of a “nasheed: light the night” event this Saturday night, 8:30 pm at Talent Lounge. The theme of the night has to do with preparing for Ramadan. Thank you, all the organisers, for including me in this awesome line-up.
I’ll be performing at least one spoken word poem during the event. Please come down for some spiritual rejuvenation, and bring your loved ones!
I’m thrilled to share that my first set of published poems are up!
Please scroll down Cait Meissner’s website and download the free course anthology titled “Armed Only With Our Souls”. Thank you Caits and the lovely ladies of the April Digging Deep, Facing Self group – I am honoured to have tread that path of creative expression and healing with you.
To any woman who is on the precipice of change but feels stuck…I urge you to sign up, do the hard growth work, and marvel at the outcome.
I’m on Week Three of a 30 day writing course – Digging Deep, Facing Self – and my poetry guru, Caits Meissner, has asked each of us to share our favourite piece of work as an exercise of vulnerability and bravery. I’d love to hear your thoughts on my poem. It’s still a very early draft, so be gentle, and please do comment!
Nenek (maternal grandmother)
I was thirteen and
an ill-fitting shoe
in my new country
of vegemite and Uncle Toby’s
I, child of chicken rice and noodles
when Nenek died
Mak flew back with Aisyah
I wish I had gone too
to say goodbye before the end
but only two decades later
when I awoke to the meaning of my ancestry
I lost your blue-stoned ring,
Nenek,
forgive me.
it haunts me
how careless I was
while I grieved for you,
refugees were shipwrecked
drowning
trying to enter the country
I waltzed into (via aeroplane)
“There are no children in detention centres.”
said the national lie
as more and more babies were born
into a cage
Nenek, you fled the communists
on a leaky boat with Datuk
not a cent to your name
your catalyst: being at gunpoint
Datuk told the soldier
“Shoot her first.”
you fled on a boat
like so many around the world
dark night, full moon swallowing the sky
risking death by drowning
you were a boat person
scorned
like the others left bloated
in the water
but you survived
you carved out a new life in Singapore
birthed countless children
showed them how to survive the ache of life
served tea to Datuk even when you could barely walk
Nenek, I am comfortable now
calm, grounded, married
you would have been so proud
I have returned to country you fled from
lifetimes ago
you paid for this, in the terror of your
night-time exodus
huddled next to your husband
towards an uncertain future
you have secured mine.
I’ve been lucky enough to be introduced to the poetry of Lucille Clifton (thanks, Caits!) and want to share it with you, too. I love her compact, evocative and passionate style. Beautiful, bold, and concise.
Here are a few of my favourites by her:
these hips are big hips.
they need space to
move around in.
they don’t fit into little
petty places. these hips
are free hips.
they don’t like to be held back.
these hips have never been enslaved,
they go where they want to go
they do what they want to do.
these hips are mighty hips.
these hips are magic hips.
i have known them
to put a spell on a man and
spin him like a top
she
stolen from my bone
is it any wonder
i hunger to tunnel back
inside desperate
to reconnect the rib and clay
and to be whole again
some need is in me
struggling to roar through my
mouth into a name
this creation is so fierce
i would rather have been born
listen children
keep this in the place
you have for keeping
always
keep it all ways
we have never hated black
listen
we have been ashamed
hopeless tired mad
but always
all ways
we loved us
we have always loved each other
children all ways
pass it on
(Photo credit: Subhi Be)
WOW. That’s all I’m sayin’. Being on the “A Word’s Worth” panel with May Fahmi, Sara Saleh, and Mark Gonzales sure was inspiring! It’s so refreshing to be part of a dialogue about the written word because sometimes, the act of writing can be isolating. I really benefited from the creative energy buzzing in that room.
As much as we enjoyed listening to Mark Gonzales speak, I appreciated his curiosity about what the rest of us had to say. May and Sara, I’m SO thrilled to hear that your screenplay is being turned into a short film and I cannot wait to watch it!
Thank you, the LMA team, for giving me the opportunity to be a panelist as well as showcase my book. Reading out the first chapter of Finding Jamilah and The Story of Yusuf really brought back my sense of wonder. It’s so easy to get caught up in the drama and back and forth of editing and publication. My book launch was a reminder of the love I have for writing and story-telling.
I’d also like to thank all my friends and family who came to my book launch, as well as those who couldn’t make it. I couldn’t have gotten this far without your love, prayers and support. Here’s to many more book launches!
For all aspiring writers who haven’t yet published – keep writing! I hope that your stories will see the light of day, the way mine have. That being said, writing is a craft and an art that takes years to refine, so enjoy the journey. Do your part, and let things unfold.
On another note, I took away three gems after listening to Mark Gonzales:
1) Vulnerability is strong, and not weak. #fiercevulnerability
2) We can choose to tell the same stories of our hurt and oppression, or we can write better ones of where we want to be. https://www.facebook.com/narrativegrowth
3) When writing/creating art, remember our values, vision and non-negotiables.
I wasn’t able to attend any other events with Mark Gonzales because of my hectic travel schedule, but I’m hoping to be part of a team who’ll host him in KL, Malaysia! We have amazing food there…#wagebeauty #tehtarik
I read an excellent short piece on Brevity Mag – Cheekbones, by Patricia Park.
Her piece was quietly compelling, and it felt like a glimpse into the inner world of North and South Korea. I’ve only ever heard about South Korea, so it was definitely refreshing to hear a different take on the North.This quote from the piece made me smile and shake my head. My mother has high cheekbones.
A woman with strong cheekbones is bound to have a hard life. “Her husband gonna die. Her children giving her the hard time. She has to do laundry and it’s so hard work.”
Gotta love these folk wisdoms.
Ever wondered about the secret behind writing Arabic beautifully? Now you can learn the elegant ruq’ah script in an exciting 6-week course!
I’m really looking forward to the upcoming course with my brother. It starts this Saturday, so there’s still time to register!
I’m keen to learn how to write more legibly, and with significantly more speed and accuracy. I have the classic student problem of fast and neat English writing and slower and less legible Arabic writing, so here’s to the spirit of self-improvement! And better note-taking when I’m studying fiqh etc.
One word – awesome.
Although I attended only two of the JAAN Revival Of The Islamic Arts events, I came away energised, inspired, and motivated to continue on my own journey as a writer, poet, and artist. The international guest speaker, Mustafa Davis, gave a great photography workshop last Wednesday and it was good to see the man behind the photographs.
One thing I’ll take away from the workshop is something one of his mentors told him:
If you wanna shoot more interesting photos, be a more interesting person.
Sounds ridiculously obvious, right? But it’s very sage advice. Photography, like all other art forms, is an expression of the artist. Good art comes from a place of honesty and vulnerability. Creating more authentic art is directly linked with our own authenticity as human beings. His honesty about having a difficult childhood really resonated with me, and so did his description of photography being the only way he knew how to express himself emotionally. Writing has always been my outlet.
Random note: He must have used the phrase ‘pretentious photographers’ at least a dozen times during the workshop! I appreciated his attitude that if we put our minds to it and practice, we can all take fantastic photographs. Great photography isn’t just for the…pretentious photographers lol. He made it very clear that it took him a long time to reach the level he’s at now, so that’s encouraging for any of us who are just starting out on an artistic endeavour. Keep at it, and the fruits will come.
Mustafa Davis will be coming back to Sydney in December, so if you’re in any way interested in photography, I can assure you that you’ll enjoy his workshop. I was lucky enough to chat to him after the workshop and I’ll be mulling over what he said to me as I develop my writing, poetry and photography. More on that later.
The Thursday night JAAN Q&A was another great experience. It was refreshing to hear the thoughts of all the panelists. Whether or not they identify overtly with being a Muslim artist, each has a unique story to tell, and their story is inevitably influenced by the lens of Islam. Being a student of knowledge myself, it was inspiring to learn that Mustafa Davis studied Islam at the hands of scholars for ten years. So in addition to producing films and shooting photographs, he also teaches fiqh on the weekend! Plus, he’s also married and has four children. All in all, I’m glad I’ve finally found an artistic role model and mentor.
Thank you to the panelists, JAAN and IMA crew! Here’s to more events, and to more forward-thinking discussions about art within the Muslim community, and beyond.
Memorable quotes from the night:
Confines can make you a better artist, versus a free-for-all…look at it [boundaries of Islam] as a benefit, and your art will flourish. Mustafa Davis
You get abuse when you challenge people’s worldviews. If you’re comfortable in your beliefs, you won’t care. – Amal Awad
Is writing about sin encouraging sin? Clarify your intentions for every piece. – Zeynab Gamieldien
It’s not revival we’re really looking at….can’t keep looking back. We need a new conversation. – Nazeen Reehman
Singing is da’wah. – Hameed Attai
Check out this Daily Life article by Kasey Edwards – The Beauty Pageant Where Everyone Has The Same Face.
It’s scary to think that cosmetic surgery is now perfectly normal in South Korea. With all that carefully constructed beauty to compete against, au naturale seems to be a gigantic faux pas. Double-eyelid surgery, specifically, is a big hit in Korea. Inner beauty doesn’t seem to take much priority when pitted against the supposed perfection going under the knife. My fellow Asians sisters! You are already good enough as you are!
Imagine the pressure of growing up in South Korea and looking, well, like an ordinary South Korean. Which evidently isn’t good enough, so off you go to get some plastic surgery done. And then you look like what you’re meant to – really pretty, like everyone else. I wonder if there’ll ever be some kind of plastic surgery revolution, where South Korean women (and men) kick off the gauntlets of societal expectations and just boycott plastic surgeries altogether.
Meh. I can dream.
Real conversation:
Australian Friend: Wow, where are these good-looking guys in Korea?
Korean Friend: I have no idea.
ON THE FLIPSIDE: I found something fascinating on Tumblr. Yes, of all places. Blowfishbubbles writes:
RACISM TO THE MAX.I hate it when people say that Asians get plastic surgery to look like “westerners”. It’s just wrong. Completely wrong. I saw this Aussie interview a while back, and the woman was like “I think they’re denying their heritage.” Seriously, woman? Have you seen the descriptions of the ancient beauties of China? “A long straight nose, big, bright, and clear eyes, with folds, a cherry pout, and an face shape that was oval, and strong, but this lady needs soft brows that were shaped like grass, accentuating her proportioned forehead.” Those are what we base our plastic surgeries on. Not you, you narcissistic bitch. We don’t want to look “western”, we just want to look like what we’ve been told by the ancient emperors was the beauty standard. We only want plastic surgery to look like what we know as the golden beauty points. I wish the TV shows would stop mentioning us as “western wannabes” and “denying our heritage” because clearly, it’s not true. If I get plastic surgery, I want to look like 赵薇. I want to look like 杨贵妃. I don’t want to look like Megan Fox. I don’t want to look like Miley Cyrus. I want to look like people who were predecessors of MY HERITAGE. MY HERITAGE. Not yours. MINE.
Interesting. I guess some Asian people DO want to look Western, while others want to reach the Asian golden beauty points. That’s some food for thought.
I just think that some inner work and self-acceptance would save a whole lot of money, grief, pain and break this cycle of excessive physicality. Easier said than done, living in a world where there’s so much emphasis on the outward form.
(Note: I have watched a documentary in which a young Asian woman on TV had plastic surgery because she wanted ‘Megan Fox’s nose’. Dude, Megan Fox’s nose would look so weird on my face. Because I’m Asian.)
Check out this interesting article – You Can Be Too Beautiful.
We all make snap judgements based on how other people look, and it’s a common myth that prettier people have it easier. This article offers a different insight. Beauty itself is so subjective, and the entire beauty industry is geared towards capitalising on what people think they lack.
In countries like India, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, fair skin is the ultimate expression of beauty. It’s bizarre. Shelves are lined with all manner of ‘skin-whitening’ products, and it makes me wonder about what kind of chemicals are strong enough to bleach skin several shades lighter. Scary.
On the other hand, in Australia and many other countries, a lot of fair-skinned folk are dying for a tan. Literally, in some cases. The statistics about the mortality and incidence of skin cancer are quite serious. 1,452 people died from melanoma in 2010. I’m hoping that more people will value lasting qualities like compassion, patience and kindness over fleeting constructs like physical beauty.
Raidah Shah Idil, MG Author 