BarakaBits
  • Business
    • Social Entrepreneurship
    • Women-Led Enterprises
    • Youth in Business
  • The Arts
    • Art & Photography
    • Books, Blogs & Poetry
    • Design, Fashion & Architecture
    • Music
    • Theater & Dance
    • TV, Film & Online Video
  • Dailylife
    • Challenge to Change
    • Discovery
    • DIY & Life Hacks
    • Food for Thought
    • Heritage
    • Travel
    • Wellness Inside Out
  • Education
    • #NeverStopLearning
    • Classroom 2.0
    • The VIP Section
  • Environment
    • Green Policy
    • Sustainable Design
    • Upcycling & Recycling
  • Science & Tech
    • Lab to Life
  • #Barakability
    • AMENA
    • Memory Bank
    • Opportunities
    • Portraits
  • Countries
  • Submit a Story
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Subscription Form
BarakaBits
  • Business
    • Social Entrepreneurship
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Women-Led Enterprises
    • Youth in Business
  • The Arts
    • Art & Photography
    • Books, Blogs & Poetry
    • Design, Fashion & Architecture
    • Music
    • Theater & Dance
    • TV, Film & Online Video
  • Dailylife
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Science & Tech
  • #Barakability
  • عربي
  • The Arts

Stepping Up: She’s young, brave, and hitting poetry big time

  • January 22, 2014
  • One comment
  • 2 minute read
Total
30
Shares
30
0
0
0
0
0

Farah Chamma began writing poems at age 13, got onstage at 15, and never looked back. With her recent videos drawing over 200,000 viewers around the world, she tells how she found spoken-word poetry and where she wants to take it next.

How did you start performing?

By 15 I had written around 100 poems, all very simple. I thought it might be good to share my poetry with a group, and came across the Poeticians, run by filmmaker and poet Hind Shoufani.

Performing to an audience was very intimidating at first. I was shaking and so scared; it wasn’t natural for me to speak poetry that I’d been writing on my own. And since that day I never stopped.

When I started performing my style changed completely. I started focusing on how a poem sounds and on subjects that were deeper and more global. So I began writing about Palestine, our identity crisis. “I am no Palestinian” was my first poem about something really socially engaging.

Does it make a difference to your poetry that you’re a woman?

When I started I never thought about gender. But the fact that female spoken-word artists are not very common in the Arab world is making me think that maybe gender does play a role in this case. The fact that I’m a woman and choose to speak my poetry in public might encourage other women to do the same, since, let’s face it, the Arabic spoken-word scene is mainly male-dominated.

What inspired you to write in Arabic?

I started asking myself, why am I writing in English? My Arabic is weaker than my English so I started reading more and listening to Hisham Al-Jukh and Tameem Al-Burghouthi, especially, and this is how I started to write Arabic.

What inspires me is the idea that the Arabic language can be used in ways that are energetic. Arabic poetry is usually sung, but Arabic poetry is still very classical and this is what makes young people not want to write it.

In Arabic you don’t have the slam. There’s no spoken word scene; a young scene doesn’t exist. So we’re trying to create it, and we’re thinking about creating an Arabic-only poetry scene. The videos and how fast they’re spreading is proof to me that people are thirsty for Arabic poetry.

For more info – Farah on Youtube

30
0
0
0
Share 30
Tweet 0
Total
30
Shares
Share 30
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Related Topics
  • Arab Poets
  • Arabic poetry slams
  • Art & Photography
  • Arts & Culture
  • Baraka Bits
  • BarakaBits
  • Farah Chamma
  • Film & Video
  • Good News
  • GoodNewsME
  • MENA Good News
  • Middle East Good News
  • Palestine
  • Poeticians
  • Poetry
  • poetry slams
  • slam competitions
  • spoken word poetry
  • Women Empowerment
  • women poets
  • young poetry scene
  • young poets
  • Youth Empowerment
Jennifer MacKenzie

Poet, writer and teacher Jennifer MacKenzie grew up on Bloomcrest Dr. in Bloomfield Hills, MI, which inspired her to wonder about places with patterns other than floral. Following her education at Wesleyan University's College of Letters and the University of Iowa's Writers Workshop, she followed a zig-zag course that included a pilgrimage across the top of Spain and a long sojourn in Syria in pursuit of the language of Muhammad al-Maghout and Moudthaffar al-Nawwab. While in Damascus she completed the books of poems "Distant City" and "My Not-My Soldier" (forthcoming from Fence Books) and edited the magazine Syria Today. Her poems and essays can be found in numerous journals including the Kenyon Review online, Guernica, Quarterly West, and Lungfull. She currently lives in New York.

Previous Article
CIRQY
  • Business
  • Discovery
  • Lifestyle
  • Wellness Inside Out

One Stop Shopping For Bold Local Designs

  • January 22, 2014
View Post
Next Article
Volunteers in Lattakia
  • #Barakability

Vaccines With a Healthy Dose of Respect

  • January 23, 2014
View Post

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

You May Also Like
View Post
  • The Arts
  • TV, Film & Online Video

10 Internationally-acclaimed Arabic Movies

  • February 1, 2021
View Post
  • Art & Photography
  • The Arts

Planning a trip to the UAE? Here’s a list of the ten best photography locations across the Country!

  • April 7, 2019
View Post
  • The Arts
  • TV, Film & Online Video

Hopes are Up for the First Pakistani Horror Movie, Pari.

  • October 16, 2017
View Post
  • Music
  • The Arts
  • Uncategorized

Arab American Radio; Fusion Music, Comedy, and New Programming

  • September 28, 2017
View Post
  • Books, Blogs & Poetry
  • Education
  • The Arts

We Love Reading; An Arab Initiative Making Children into Leaders

  • September 27, 2017
View Post
  • Design, Fashion & Architecture
  • The Arts

Spring Fashion, Joyful Designs by Sara Yasso

  • September 24, 2017
View Post
  • Design, Fashion & Architecture
  • The Arts

Out of One Girl’s Geometrical Love, Patterns is Born

  • September 19, 2017
View Post
  • Design, Fashion & Architecture
  • The Arts

Amman Design Week, The Movement of Design In Jordan

  • September 14, 2017
1 comment
  1. Pingback: 5 Palestinian Women Who Shone in 2014

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending
  • 1
    10 Internationally-acclaimed Arabic Movies
  • 2
    Check out these MENA startups disrupting different industries in the region
  • 3
    Here’s What The Top Debt Consolidation Companies Have In Common
  • 4
    Random Video Calling Apps: Your Doorway to the World
  • Palace of Golden Horses, Malaysia 5
    Arabian Falcon Holidays: Everything You Need to Know
Get some good news to your email

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

Countries
Libya Yemen Algeria Jordan United Arab Emirates Turkey Iraq Syria Oman Tunisia Egypt Saudi Arabia Iran Morocco Palestine Lebanon Kuwait QatarBahrain
Stay Connected
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube Subscribers
Categories
  • Business
  • The Arts
  • Lifestyle
  • Education
  • Environment
  • #Barakability
Company
  • About Us
  • Archives
  • Intern at BarakaBits
  • Submit a Story
  • Why Advertise With Us?
  • Contact Us
BarakaBits
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
Good News from the Middle East

Input your search keywords and press Enter.