Award-winning poet Dorian “Paul D” Rogers enjoyed coffee and stimulating banter with poetry phenom Farah Chamma. The two chatted, compared notes and jammed together in an organic poetry-fest that intertwined their lines in powerful juxtaposition and imagery.
Paul D: You are the youngest member of Poeticians, a Dubai-based poetry collective and the first of its kind in the UAE. How did you get involved with them?
Farah: I heard about the Poeticians through a friend and decided to contact them. I was fourteen back then. Hind Shoufani, the founder of Poeticians, told me that their events are usually 18+ yet accepted to give me a shot. My experience with the Poeticians was very pleasant from the beginning. I remember being able to easily bond with the members of the group, before having even read any poetry. After reading my piece, they gave me a standing ovation – not because the piece was extraordinarily good, but because the audience was very responsive and supportive.
Paul D: I think you may be taking for granted the fact that people are impressed with the wisdom you display despite the fact that you are so young. You were born in Dubai but and are of Palestinian decent. Some of your poetry, “I Am No Palestinian,” for example, deals with Palestine and your search of self-identity within that context.
Farah: It can be quite confusing to be a Dubai-born Palestinian especially when not having had the possibility to visit Palestine. Given the fact that there’s a large Palestinian community in Dubai. So, I ended up forming a vague Palestinian identity that I seem to question from time to time. What does it mean to be Palestinian that has been constantly in exile? How much do I understand of the Palestinian conflict? I find these questions very thought-provoking and therefore constantly include them in my poetry.
Farah: Do you have a similar experience when you write your poetry?
Paul D: I share some of the same experiences growing up in self-segregated South Georgia. You had blacks and whites and few people of other ethnicities. It wasn’t until my late teens that I felt comfortable in my own skin. I got most of my acceptance through poetry. You have a lot of conviction and passion in your words. What do you attribute these qualities to?
Farah: Ever since I started performing poetry, my perception of it changed completely. It went from being a simple soothing pastime that I enjoy, to a sort of passionate way of communicating with those who are around me. Only when I formed this perception did I start to feel a very strong conviction being portrayed in my words. When I stand in front of an audience, I feel like I owe them this passion and conviction.
Paul D: Your writing is very introspective and polished for an eighteen year old. When did you memorize your first poem and who are you major inspirations?
Farah: I only started memorizing my poetry when I got exposed to the art of “spoken word”. I think I memorized my first when I was thirteen. I started watching poetry videos on YouTube, especially those of Mahmoud Darwiche. My major inspirations currently are Hisham El Jakh, Sarah Kay, and Hala Ali, a fellow Poetician. I usually watch these people perform their poetry in order to get inspired to go write something of my own.
Farah: How about you Paul? When did you start memorizing your poetry?
Paul D: I was eighteen when I memorized my first piece. I was inspired by the Black on Black Rhyme poets around me when I attended university in 2000 – that was when you were like three and a half years old! It was so inspiring to see poets with so many different approaches. Some had more of a rhyming, hip-hop sound. Others were more story tellers. Still, others had strong visual images. I was a literal sponge soaking up different styles. People like Roger Bonair-Agard and Patricia Smith blew me away.
Paul D: You speak multiple languages. If a poem could only be spoken in one language, which one would you choose? What characteristics of that language make it a beautiful vehicle for poetry?
Farah: What’s great about writing poetry in different languages is the fact that each language engages you in a different writing experience. Given that my current Law and Political Science studies are in French, I find that my French poetry usually revolves around political and social ideas. If I were to choose only one language, I think I’d choose classical Arabic. Not because Arabic is my mother tongue but because I feel like I am slowly losing my ability to poetically express myself in Classical Arabic, which has been almost completely replaced by dialectical Arab and foreign languages. I’d also choose it because I feel like it’s a language that has been especially made for eloquence and poetry. There is something very beautiful about the melody and the strength of its words that I haven’t found in either English or French.
Paul D: At Paris Sorbonne University’s Abu Dhabi campus, you have recently been mobilizing local university students as head of student activities. What are some cultural programs or dreams that you have in the pipeline?
Farah: I just hosted a student poetry showcase that went extremely well! I am currently trying to put together a student-based poetry group that would in some sort revive any young spoken-word talents that are in the region. I always feel like I have been immensely encouraged and supported by those who are around me, especially members of the Poeticians, and would like to do the same to anyone who finds that he/she has the “poetic dream” that I had when I was a little younger. I am hoping to be able to start putting a tangible programme into place by the end of this year. There are around fifteen talented writers at the Sorbonne and in NYU that I see as emerging poets. That’s why I find that the student-based poetry group would serve as a great platform for students to get out there.
Paul D: That is so exciting that there is an emerging scene. I can’t wait until there is a strong middle school/high school poetry scene along with a university scene to complement the adult poetry scene that is flourishing currently. What would you suggest to youth that are interested in pursuing poetry as a career or passion?
Farah: I would suggest for them to always make sure that their passion is not shadowed by the idea of fame or wealth and that they write poetry to better understand themselves and those who are around them. Once they’ve given their poetry a valuable reason to be, they should start taking any opportunity they find their way!
“Organic Duets”
She said…
I want to free this poem
From every linguistic chain
I do not want it to have a rhyme scheme
And maybe not even a name
I am not going to categorize it
Nor place it in a social frame
I am going to make it as amorphous
As the wind
Its words so hard to tame
He said…
In the World of Words metaphors just bully on similes
making them pick up trash in abandoned yards in front of all the parts
of speech at the bus stop.
Nouns just claim everything and the adjectives just hang around them
and listen.
These adjectives have the power to ruin your name or make you powerful
in the world of words.
She said…
I am going to make it run in the streets
I am going to make it run
Without having any commas to stumble upon
It’s going to run without having any full stops, check points or brackets to wave on
This poem will not have a passport nor any other filthy documents to get a stamp on
He said…
In the world of words, the verbs just can’t sit still, always instigating.
Little epiphany looks so pretty with her barrettes buttoned to her braided her.
She wears poodle sweaters and swears she is the cutest girl in P.S. 102.
She passes by all the boys in the halls so obviously eager for attention
That they don’t even notice her anymore…
