Meet Fatima Abukar, English and Drama student and spoken word artist, who has just published her first poetry collection. She talks about the inspiration behind her collection and her future career aspirations in the creative industries.
I’m a first-year English and Drama student. Outside of my studies, I am a freelance spoken word artist, and an actor in training. The latest role I took on this academic year was Aisha in Romani Girl for Theatre Royal Stratford East.
Don’t Be Dramatic, Light Her Up is a poetry collection written during a time when I felt very alone due to losing a lot of people in my life. The collection follows the journey of the speaker whose growth you see throughout the book. It also aims to show healing is not linear, as you see the growth of the speaker but also see their downfalls, going back to the emotional states which they once were, and eventually bouncing back up from them. It is about emotional strength, emotional weakness, hurt, love, loss, self-love and growth.
I aspire to pursue a career in the creative industries. I want to create, in whatever way that may be. I am still exploring my options but I for sure am pursuing a career in writing and performing (acting and spoken word poetry).
One of my favourite poets who have inspired my poetry writings would have to be Rupi Kaur. I admire her realness, her truth, and her loyalty to her cultural identities.
Normal People - Sally Rooney
White Teeth - Zadie Smith
Noughts & Crosses collection - Malorie Blackman
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - John Gray
The Chimp Paradox - Professor Steve Peters
Don't Be Dramatic, Light Her Up! is available on Amazon. You can also follow Fatima @fatimaabukarr.