Fida Islaih's Blog

Personal Interpretation of The Tortured Poets 
Dear readers,

I enjoy reading a song and analyzing the lyrics. I love being able to detect the story she's telling while also interpreting it. I develop my own personal connection. Here's a breakdown why some of the lyrics have become my favorite.

no one here to blame, what about your quiet treason.

the betrayal brought her depression and she’s attempting to move on but the forced energy isn’t healing. It's about struggling with a traumatic situation alone because no one noticed the changes in you. The narrator is envious of those living peaceful lives and frustrated that friends found better people to be with.

I've seen this episode and still loved the show, I've read this one where you come undone, I chose this cyclone with you.

Depending on the perspective you choose it's about the guilt and regret for getting in your own way or willing to stay with someone through their mental illness.

The voices in his head called the rain to end our days of wild.

The anxiety or depression gets in the way of being present in your life; You’re not being taken care of. The circumstances you’re in are ruining who you are. I love the toy metaphor.

How dare you think it's romantic, leaving me safe and stranded.

It's about being left behind and I love the alien metaphor.  

I'm pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free, my white-knuckle dying grip, holding tight to your quiet resentment, every breath feels like rarest air.

I personally relate with idea of talking to your younger self that went through the pain. It’s about accepting and letting go of the past pain, it parallels you’re losing me.

I just learned these people only raise you to cage you. Too high a horse for a simple girl to rise above it.

Immediately after hearing the church imagery I thought of religious shame. It gives eldest daughter healing. I wrote a deeper take in another article.

toss the ashes off the ledge, as I said in my letters, now that I know better I will never lose my baby again

It's about accepting past circumstances, leaving the past behind & coming back home to yourself, making a promise to never abandon self again, inner child healing.

Your home is really only a town you’re a guest in. The hurricane with my name when it came I dared it to wash me away.

It’s about wanting to run away from the pain and attempting to let it go.

My boredom is bone deep, I dream of cracking the locks. If long suffering propriety is what they want from me, you've haunted me so stunningly.

It's about feeling trapped or stagnant in current circumstances.

I was tame, I was gentle 'til the circus life made me mean, they didn't do it to hurt me, I wanna show you just how disturbed this has made me.

It's about taking back her power and being a recovering people pleaser.

Who’s going to tell me the truth when you blew in with the winds of fate. Dancing phantoms on the terrace, are they second-hand embarrassed, that I can't get out of bed?

It's about grappling with loss and the pain still clinging to you. 

All the pieces of me shattered, I cry a lot, but I am so productive, it's an art.

It’s the overachieving depressed girlie anthem and sounds like bejeweled & mastermind.

If rusting my sparkling summer was the goal, then sank in stoned oblivion.

It's about how the pain ruined you and distancing yourself from it. 

I’m making a comeback to where I belong.

It’s about coming back to yourself after depression, healing from heartbreak, and connecting to the present moment.

Flesh and blood amongst war machines. Beauty is a beast that roars down on all fours demanding more, it’s hell on earth to be heavenly.

You’re expected to live to their standards and they will pick you apart.

What are your favorite lyrics and how do you personally connect to them?Fida Islaih

 Back in 2014 I wrote a short story with a little twist on little red riding hood. Enjoy! 

Once upon a time lived a little girl named Ruqayyah. She lived in a small town with her parents. She didn't like being in big cities because it was busy and dirty. Grimy people were lurking in the shadows. She had the charm to make them good. There was something about her green eyes. 
Her mother loved the color red and thought it would go well with Ruqayyah's green eyes. Mom bought red fabric and stitched her a headscarf. Ruqayyah loved it. She wore it every day. 
One day her mother said to her: 'Come, Little Red, here are some homemade cookies, fruit, and dates; take them to your grandmother, she is ill and weak, and they will help her. Go before it gets hot, and walk nicely and quietly and do not run off the path, or you may fall and break the cookies or scrape your knee, then your grandmother won't get anything; and when you go into her room, don't forget to say, "Good morning" and don't peep into every corner. Come home before sunset."
Halfway there, Little Red started getting tired. She sat on a rock and made a little prayer. Soon after, she heard some rustling. She hugged her basket. An angel of help appeared. "Peace be with you, daughter of Eve. You're doing a good deed; here, drink this water. It'll help you on the rest of your journey." 
She stood there in shock; yet drank the water. She wondered how does the angel know. As if it can read my mind, he answers, "God knows everything." Then the angel disappeared. She got up and continued. 
Once there, she didn't find her grandmother at the front door but a pig. She didn't know what to do. She kept her face down. "Hi, little Red, can I help you with the basket?"
Before she could say no, he took it inside. She took a wet cloth and cleaned the basket. She asked, "how do you know who I am?"
"Your grandmother told me," he smirked.
"Where is she?" she asked.
"It's for me to know and you to find out."
She made eye contact; her eyes caught the natural light. The green in her eyes made something in the pig change. He changed into a cat. 
She finally could get past him. Yet he followed her as she went to look for her grandmother. She found her in the closet. They both went to wash up and pray to thank God for their victory. She found the cat still in the house, soaking in the sunlight. After that, they enjoyed the goodies Ruqayyah brought. She forgave the "pig" and gave some scraps to the cat.
Before going home, her grandmother went to get something from her drawer. She gave Ruqayyah a little bag of chocolate and dates, "don't tell your mom I gave you anything; she will get mad at me. Run along now."
Ruqayyah skipped all the way home while eating her chocolate. The dates were delicious, too. It gave her the energy she needed to continue her walk. She remembered the story her mom told her. Dates are one of the prophet's favorite foods. Back at home, her mom tucked her into bed.

Fida Islaih

Hello Poetteers, 
I'm sharing more poetry books I discovered and am excited to read!
March
Coming Home to Her By Emily Juniper
It is a celebration of being human. It is a coming out journey, an exploration of sexuality, femininity, loving, and being loved.
How to Bloom By Tatyana White Jenkins
A collection of poems about the enthralling, complex, grueling, and beautiful journey of growth.
April
The Gravity Inside Us By Chloe Frayne 
An ode to whatever it is we carry that pulls us in and out of place, and speaks so insistently of fate.
The Medicine That Burns by Molly S Hillery
It is a raw declaration on what a life of trauma can look like after the dust settles and the poems have happy endings. It is an unflinching narrative on how hurt is cyclical, how recovery must be redefined repeatedly, and how shame can poison us in the worst ways.
I See How You've Kept Me by Aisha Adams
A debut poetry book that takes you through a journey of brokenness to reach complete healing.
May
The Light Within My Light By Amin Jaswal

A collection of poetry focused on finding one’s self and healing the broken parts within ourselves. Using metaphors, symbolism and gender fluidity in her writing Amin explores the inner relationship and  conflict between our feminine and masculine energy.

October

Flower Crowns and Fearsome Things By Amanda Lovelace
Amanda lovelace explores the complexity of femininity through alternating wildflower & wildfire poems. within these pages, you will find that each of us has the ability to be both soft & fierce at the same time. there is no need to choose one or the other.
Fida Islaih

Hello Poetteers, 
Going wide can be overwhelming. Finding a good distributor can help lessen the stress. I started using Draft2Digital to reach ebook retailers unavailable through Smashwords. Like Smashwords and Amazon, it’s free and easy to use.

I enjoy using D2D for its features. The interface is easier to use while Smashwords needs an updated facelift. You can schedule sales ahead of time on D2D while on Smashwords you need to set the sale on the same day. On Amazon, you can’t place your book for sale or free unless you exclusively publish with them. Smashwords sales use coupon codes that buyers will have to remember. A benefit from that is you can have a private or public sale.

Smashwords can be nit-picky about your book format. If it fails the review, your book won’t be available on the Premium Catalog.

D2D helps with table of contents and adding in end matter. It allows you to add a design style. It’s accessible to download MOBI and EPUB. You can pick which retailers you want your book at or remove your books from specific retailers. Smashwords is limited on their payment methods while D2D has various payment options.

On the D2D dashboard it lists all the retailers with a dates of availability and clickable links directly to your book. While on Smashwords that isn’t available and you have to search yourself which retailers your books are on and guess when it’ll be available. Lastly on D2D you can get a universal book link.

Which platform would you use?

Part 1: is Amazon publishing worth it?
Stay inspired,FidaFida Islaih

Hello Poetteers, 


Self publishing can vary from being free to expensive. It depends on your skills, if you're willing to be self taught and hire out for higher quality work. 

Indie author publishing tools
A cover designer can run between $150-$300 An editor costs between $200-$400 There are other expenses like formatter and illustrator. Or you could do the cover and interior by yourself on programs like InDesign which costs about $240 a year. Vellum is $250, a book formatting software for Mac. Distributors
IngramSpark is $50 - to upload a book & then $25 for each revision.Other expenses

Isbns $125 - from the Bowker site (for US only). You can purchase an isbn (2 for each: paperback & ebook) to have your name and LLC attached to your book. You can also use a free one through your distributors. Their publishing company will be attached to your book. Also, you’ll have several different isbns for your book through all the distributors you use. Reedsy goes in depth about isbns on their site.

Optional marketing expenses
Bookfunnel is $10 per month. It’s a site that allows you to send free ebooks to readers.What are other expenses do you have to budget for?
Stay inspired,Fida Fida Islaih

Hello Poetteers,


How to know you’re over-editing

Something we all worry about is over-editing. It’s bound to happen. Over-editing is when your work is no longer moving forward. It happens when you doubt it's not good enough and are attached to what readers think. You will know when the emotion in the poems are lost and you're not excited anymore. The poems sound the same & you feel tired with the poems. There are no questions left to ask. You're focused on the same section and tiny details. You can't finish because it's hard to let go. 

How to tackle it when it happens

Remind yourself that you're writing for yourself. Hopefully you are saving each draft. Don’t be afraid to go back to an older version of the poems.

How to prevent it

Set deadlines. Take breaks in between each round and use a checklist. Send it to beta readers and an editor.  Are you looking for a poetry editor? Check out my services and snag a spot! 

Stay inspired, Fida Fida Islaih

Hello Poetteers, 


Editing my own work is harder than editing for my clients. With my clients I see it from an outside perspective. I’m attached to my poems. I may not see the plot holes or may not pay attention to the tone of poem.

Editing is a skill you can improve on. Analyze the poems you read and study the songs you listen to. Ask yourself what you like and dislike about the poems? What would you do differently? 
Are you looking for a poetry editor? Check out my services and snag a spot! Fida Islaih

Hello Poetteers, 


There are four options when it comes to editing a body of work. It's best to use all of them. You can't rely on online editing apps unconditionally. It doesn't replace an actual editor. It helps you have a clean manuscript to give to your editor. With that, they can dive deep into your story to give you the copy edits you're looking for. Self editing: find a checklist and familiarize yourself with the track changes feature on your word processor. Editing software: services like Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and AutoCritBeta readers and sensitivity readers: they will give an outside perspective and look for accuracy. Professional editor: hire one that specializes in your genre and provides the feedback you're looking for. Formatting your work is the next step after editing. Two softwares to consider are Vellum and Indesign. I wish you the best of luck with your work! 
Are you looking for a poetry editor? Check out my services and snag a spot!

Stay inspired,
Fida Fida Islaih

Hello Poetteers, 


When it comes to editing their poetry chapbooks poets print out every poem and rearrange it until it best tells a story and flows well. It's a good method that helps you physically see how the story can work and moves your headspace so that you don't feel stuck. 
My body of works are larger and honestly I don't want to waste paper. It could work better for smaller projects. I could possibly focus on the rearrangement by chapter. What works for me is to have a list of the titles, a topic jogger and number it in the order I want them in. Then I go into the document and move the poems.
After all that my first step is to read it in full and read it aloud. As I do that I take notes on paper or through track changes. I start with the smaller tasks and move on to the bigger ones. 
For Individual Poems:Remove unnecessary words and linesLook up synonyms and rhymesRearrange lines or stanzas and change POVExpand and personalize: research about the topic, look at old journals and photos. Ask your poems what, why, and how questions. Figure out what poetic devices could work for the poems. There are several possible ways to write an ending. Use it to emphasize the message, summarize what you shared, bring back the first line. Ask yourself what did you learn from the emotion and experience you explored?
Are you looking for a poetry editor? Check out my services and snag a spot! 
Stay inspired, Fida 
Fida Islaih

Hello Poetteers, 
I'm here again to compile the upcoming poetry book releases of 2021. 
January
I Must Belong Somewhere By Dawn Lanuza 
Written during her year of rest and travel, this new collection speaks to the indescribable feelings of displacement and longing for the companionship she left behind.
If I Tell The Truth by Jasmin Kaur
Told in prose, poetry, and illustration, this heartrending story talks about living undocumented and the constant anxiety over safety.
Poems for the Dawn by Jen Rogue
In her Letters for the Universe Goodreads Choice Nominated poet J.R. Rogue shares intimate poems written lovingly for her readers. Take a journey through the eyes of author and reader as Rogue shares a glimpse into the private task of writing poetry dedicated to readers worldwide.
Shine Your Icy Crown by Amanda Lovelace
This is a story about not letting society dictate the limits of your potential. it’s time to take back your power & realize that you don’t need a king in order to be a queen.
February
Where Hope Comes From by Nikita Gill
poet Nikita Gill returns to her roots with her most personal collection yet. sharing a number of poems that she wrote when the world went into lockdown, as well as her poems of strength and hope.
The Grief We’re Given by William Bortz 
How are we to learn to grieve when it feels unrelenting? How are we to adore and memorialize small moments of appreciation? How are we to shape our grief into something worth celebrating, and begin to understand the grief we give?
March
It Was Never Going to Be Okay, by Jaye Simpson
it was never going to be okay is a collection of poetry and prose exploring the intimacies of understanding intergenerational trauma, Indigeneity and queerness.
I am tired of being a dandelion by Zane Fredrick
Life presents a multitude of moments we hope work in our favor. One moment has us building a fortress of daydreams and anticipation, and the next it may come crumbling down. Yet, no matter how many times our hopes fall, we seem to be able to rebuild them again.
How Far You Have Come by Morgan Harper Nichols
In the midst of the hurt and the mundane, the questions and the not yets, we can forget just how far we have come. Morgan weaves together personal reflections with her signature poems to share her journey to reclaim moments of brokenness, division, and pain and re-envision them as experiences of reconciliation, unity, and hope.
All the Places I Wish I Died by Crystal Stone
Between the Midwest & the delta. On the bank of the shore & the ice of the lake. Between love & nostalgia. Beside the toad & the squirrel. Between loss. Next to a stranger. In the scent of grapefruit vodka seltzer. Between the sunrise & high noon. In the shape of the bed in the shape of my former body. By the edge. All the places I wish I died.
April
Sometimes I fall asleep thinking about you by Catarine Hancock 
a collection of poetry on the feeling of never getting closure, that lingering longing you still get even when you know you shouldn’t, and how it feels to finally be able to say, “I have finally let you go,” after years of struggling to find the words.
The Wild Fox of Yemen, by Threa Almontaser

A love letter to the country and people of Yemen, a portrait of young Muslim womanhood in New York after 9/11, and an extraordinarily composed examination of what it means to carry in the body the echoes of what came before.Fida Islaih