Writing for Change
Photo taken by Ida K. from her August travels in Botswana. This pride of female lions also featured a maned female who can be seen exhibiting more “typical” male lion behavior.
INTENTIONS | 7.1.2020
Dear Herders,
Pride Month. Juneteenth. Black Lives Matter. Still mattering. It’s an important time to amplify Black voices, to listen, to reflect, and to act. It’s always a good time to amplify. I’ve also been grateful for the voices behind Intersectional Environmentalist, and the resources provided for personal and systematic change. Words have power.
Remember Weekend of Words (WoW), back in May, featuring several Herders?
Well, Lit Hub heard about all the powerful poetry performed at WoW, and is now releasing filmed segments. First up from that weekend is A Poetry Reading on Black America. The four poets featured are Dwayne Morgan, Rabih Ahmed, Tongo Eisen Martin, and Wanda Sabir. Sabir reads last, with a new poem reflecting on Covid times and in her own words, the complicated reality of Black resilience.
Last month, Iris Crawford, who also read her poetry at Weekend of Words, wrote a recent article for Oaklandside called A Juneteenth I’ve Been Waiting For. Iris writes how,
For many, the holiday also sparks conversations and questions about reparations for past and ongoing harms. How do we honor this history and share joy in its commemoration, but remain accountable for what and who is owed?
These questions beget further reflection, conversations, and action. For more, follow Iris on Twitter and check out her other articles for the Oaklandside too.
This July Issue of The Herd, we express our gratitude to poets and artists who dream of a better world—and work hard for it. Our July feature highlights Dania Ayah Alkhouli, who is a writer, poet, and organizer who also read at Weekend of Words.
Lots of happenings and also a surpise at the end of this longer newsletter—new music video and album drop from Herder Daniel Eugene! Daniel also performed at Weekend of Words—subscribe to his YouTube channel and check his new album too. Spread the word about the artists and poets whose work in The Herd resonates with you.
That’s what The Herd is all about.
CREATIVITY CRUSH | 7.1.20
Dania Ayah Alkhouli on why “it’s time to exert authentic bravery”
Dania has been writing poetry since the fourth grade. She’s a published poet with three collections of poetry, and also runs a powerful blog on the interconnectedness of feminism, mental health, domestic violence, longing, loss and grief for her warn-torn homeland Syria. Dania is also the cofounder of the nonprofit A Country Called Syria.
Writer, poet, organizer—without further ado, here’s our interview featuring Dania Ayah Alkhouli. You can purchase Dania’s books via this post, or consider donating to Dania's fundraiser for inmates in southern California jails who need masks & food. OC Jail kitchens are mainly closed and the replacement sandwiches have made several inmates sick. Every bit helps!
The Herd: When did you start writing? Was poetry always your main medium?
Dania Ayah Alkhouli: The first memory I have of writing was in fourth grade. I was nine years old and I had to write a story for school. Till this day I have that "book" I wrote with a colorful laminated construction paper book cover. That actually makes me laugh because I designed the covers of my last two poetry books.
“I get called "brave" all the time for the poems I write on sexuality, domestic violence, feminism, and death, but I feel it's time to exert authentic bravery through nonfiction writing on these subjects.” —Dania Ayah Alkhouli
I guess I've been doing it a long time and I didn't start with poetry, but I developed an appreciation for the subtle mystery poetry provides writers to say things indirectly direct. What I mean by that is poetry creates a certain science to words and it enables writers to talk about such heavy and important topics in code. There are those who can decipher the code and those who can't and sometimes that's a form of protection.
For those of us that write about sensitive subjects, in communities that often marginalize those topics, poetry is our refuge. However, 2020 has most definitely inspired me to get back to my roots of nonfiction writing. I get called "brave" all the time for the poems I write on sexuality, domestic violence, feminism, and death, but I feel it's time to exert authentic bravery through nonfiction writing on these subjects.
I've begun outlining chapters of a book I've delayed for almost a decade because I feared its reception. But the time of fear is over.
The Herd: You participated in Weekend of Words during the midst of this global pandemic, with all the worries, stress, and isolation it has exacerbated. How was your reading "Words in Response to War" and overall Weekend of Words experience for you?
Dania Ayah Alkhouli: It was such a gift to be invited to participate in Weekend of Words, especially under the shelter in place orders and a global pandemic. One silver lining of the quarantine is that it brought together so many people nationally, and internationally, through art and activism. WoW was one of those opportunities and getting to read at the "Words in Response to War" session was a great way to ground me, personally.
Being able to share a virtual space with Katia Aoun Hage and talk about our homelands was emotional and necessary. I really appreciated that a session like ours was included in the WoW event. Often, the areas of the Middle East that experience war become old news or folks become desensitized to it.
Many don't realize that these areas are affected the worst by this global pandemic and this was a way to bring them back into the spotlight. For the first time in a long time though, I cried hard during a reading, a mixture of all these realities and the fact that my grandmother in Syria had just passed away less than a month before the reading.
The Herd: Your work weaves together "feminism, mental health, sexuality, identity, culture, religion," as well as your "war-torn homeland, Syria, grief, loss, and death." I'm thinking of your poem "Jiddo is Right" and "Apple" from Contortionist Tongue as two of your poems that touch on nearly all of these interconnected threads, with such empathy and tenderness in them. Do those poems that touch on family & identity flow as naturally as they appear in printed form?
Dania Ayah Alkhouli: Sometimes, those are actually the harder poems to write because they hit so many tender points of my life and force me to explore writing in ways that are different. Taking various workshops really helped me hone in on this, shying away from just writing it all out and learning to find the science of word economy and word pairings.
I don't find that they flow any differently when reading/sharing them only because I view all my poems to be little parts of me that I cherish; some are better than others, but they're all pieces of the bigger picture.
The Herd: With the poetry scene in the greater Los Angeles area, are there any poets you'd like to give a shout-out too who inspire you, have supported you, or whose work you love hearing live?
Dania Ayah Alkhouli: Ah, there are quite a few for sure that I am so grateful to have either heard or gotten to know, but I'm going to shout-out three.
First and foremost, is definitely my publisher, Eric Morago, who was actually the first poet I ever heard live 11 years ago. That was the night he unknowingly inspired me to re-examine what little I knew about getting involved in the poetry community, and even more importantly, how to nurture that community too because he reminds us that we all have a role to play as poets together.
Painfully, today, in a lot of spaces, poetry is competitively cutthroat, but he builds an atmosphere that I always try to live by personally too: There is room for everyone to bloom. He teaches you how to find your authentic voice and give it its space to speak loudly. He's also not afraid to offer constructive criticism that's actually honest and beneficial. I cannot express how much I appreciate having that exist in our poetry community.
Another poet I will always shoutout is Ra Avis, who I met at a women's poetry reading a few years ago. As a Muslim woman in a headscarf, what captivated me was seeing her on stage wearing a gloriously colorful Sari, reading poetry about her experience in prison. It's extremely empowering and validating for me to see other women embracing their heritage and poetry so proudly. From that night on, I don't recall not knowing her or loving her and her words. Ra hits the nail on the head every time with stories that are not only worth hearing but absolutely necessary to learn from. Her book, Sack Nasty, is so good, that the post office kept my copy and never delivered it to me so I had to order another copy. (At least that's what I deduced when USPS never delivered it to me after they had it for one month.)
Painfully, today, in a lot of spaces, poetry is competitively cutthroat, but he builds an atmosphere that I always try to live by personally too: There is room for everyone to bloom.
-Dania Ayah Alkhouli
Ra's also helped in sharing the fundraiser I launched to donate proceeds of my book sales to support inmates affected by COVID-19, either through providing them masks and/or learning materials. We've raised almost $2,000 for that and been able to provide over 2,000 masks across Los Angeles and Orange County jails.
Though there are so many more, I also want to shout-out Azin Mafi, an Iranian poet who NEVER ceases to make my jaw drop and tears spill with her words. We met at a women's/femme's/nonbinary poetry reading and I am so grateful for her friendship and her poetry. She can wholeheartedly teleport you to precisely the setting she is speaking about in her words, whether it is a garden or a kitchen in Iran or in the company of her grandfather. Also, she is so empowering and that kick of inspiration when a woman needs to be reminded how amazing she is, and honestly, that's a key to surviving in the poetry world, having friends like that.
The Herd: Are there also any Black writers and poets whose work you'd like to give a shout-out to right now?
Dania Ayah Alkhouli: In continuation with the shout-outs, I am honored to have shared stages with and read the works of some incredible Black poets. This year, two incredible women that I know released their debut poetry books that I HIGHLY suggest purchasing and supporting: be/trouble by Bridgette Bianca (who was also featured in WoW this year) and More Courage than a Few by The Poetic Moment.
I am also a huge fan of Alyesha Wise, who is not only a spectacular poet and educator, but also an active community member building platforms and spaces to discuss mental & physical health awareness and the way these two impact BIPOC women far more than others.
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For more, you can follow Dania on Instagram and Twitter, and check out her nonprofit on Instagram and Twitter too! Add her blog to your favorites and consider donating to her fundraiser for inmates in southern California jails. Anyone interested in supporting the campaign can either (1) donate directly here or (2) buy a copy of Dania’s book via Venmo (@lady_narrator) and then she will donate directly.
The world is a better place with Dania’s poetry in it.
JULY WRITING PROMPT | 7.1.2020
Big thank you to my sister and supporter, Julia Edith Rigby, for all the original artwork in The Herd.
Miah Jeffra, a poet and professor in my Bay Area poetry cohort asked two weeks ago, what do you do that is motivated by love? I’ve been thinking about that question a lot, and offer it to you to consider.
Chew on it for a bit. Write something down. Share below, if you’d like.
ALBUM REVIEW | 7.1.2020
Time to celebrate Daniel Eugene and the first music video from his new album LEVELS & LAYERS!! We featured Daniel this February and he’s been busy since—this is his second album and he’s recording more new music right and left. The songs “February 28th” and “ID WT HI” are our favorites so far. What are yours?
You can follow Daniel @eugene_rudd on Instagram. His podcast “No Edits” relaunches soon. Message Daniel on Insta for t-shirts, buttons, and pins.
10 HAPPENINGS | 7.1.20
VIRTUAL: Thea Matthews and Maw Shein Win / Unearth [The Flowers] - Free event - please support the poets by purchasing their books! Brought to you by the Booksmith. Wednesday, July 8 - 7:00 PM.
A Juneteenth I’ve Been Waiting For - Great article written by poet and social justice advocate Iris Crawford.
Saad Bee Hózhǫ́, a collective for Diné writers, held a poetry reading in June featuring Jake Skeets, Sherwin Bitsui, Sareya Taylor, Rowie Shebala, and many more Diné poets. Their fundraiser remains open for White Mountain Apache Tribe Covid-19 Relief Fund and Navajo & Hopi Families Covid-19 Relief Fund.
Outrage Isn’t Allyship (with ideas on what to do instead) by writer and “renegade sociologist” Holiday Phillips.
Consider this postcard writing campaign with Reclaim Our Vote, a nonpartisan voter outreach program whose mission is to empower underrepresented voters. This particular campaign asks people to handwrite postcards encouraging underrepresented people to register to vote.
#BlackHikersWeek, founded by Debbie Njai, happened this June and has ongoing momentum. Njai also founded the group @blackpeoplewhohike to increase the safety and inclusivity for Black people in nature.
From last issue, Do the Work: An Anti-Racist Reading List by author and speaker Layla F. Saad.
VIRTUAL: Launch for Melissa Valentine / The Names of All the Flowers - Free event - Please support the authors and poets by purchasing their books! Tuesday, July 14th - 7:00 PM.
Queer Writers of Color Relief Fund, brought to you by Shade Literary Arts, has supported 136 writers so far. Fundraiser remains open for remainder of 2020.
2020 PEN America World Voices Festival - An ongoing, digital festival created to “celebrate the beauty and power of storytelling.” PEN America also announced their 2020 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Awardee, Chinese essayist and human rights defender Xu Zhiyong.
That’s it for Issue XI of The Herd. Feel free to comment below, or share The Herd with anyone who needs a lift.
The Herd is a literary newsletter that celebrates artistic expression and elevates artists who build community and foster connection.