inspiration from another seminar: https://5irbetru7a.edublogs.org/2020/01/03/shedding-light-on-peace-december-january-free-choice/

Najwa Zebian

By: Alyna and Sarah

Image result for najwa zebian face

Background:

  • Canadian – Lebanese 
  • Speaker, Poet, Activist, Author, Educator
  • Advocated in the #MeToo movement

Famous Works:

Image result for nectar of pain

In The Nectar
of Pain, Zebian sheds light on the feelings and experiences that emerge from a painful heartbreak. She writes that the process of cleansing oneself of that pain—day by day, hour by hour, and second by second—is the real work of healing. With uncommon warmth and wisdom, Zebian empowers all who have lost to let go of anger and transform their suffering into the softness, sweetness, and beauty of nectar. She holds her readers by the hand as they heal.
Image result for mind platter
Mind Platter is a compilation of reflections on life as seen through the eyes of an educator, student, and human who experienced her early days in silence. It is written in the words of a woman who came from Lebanon to Canada at the age of sixteen and experienced what it was like to have fate push her to a place where she didn’t belong. It is written in the voice of every person who has felt unheard, mistreated, misjudged, or unseen. The book contains over 200 one-page reflections on topics we encounter in our everyday lives: love, friendship, hurt, inspiration, respect, motivation, integrity, honesty, and more. Mind Platter is not about the words it contains, but what the reader makes of them. May this book give a voice to those who need one, be a crying shoulder for those who yearn for someone to listen, and inspire those who need a reminder of the power they have over their lives.
Image result for sparks of phoenix
As the phoenix emerges from its ashes, Zebian emerges ablaze in these pages, not only as a survivor of abuse, but as a teacher and healer for all those who have struggled to understand, reclaim, and rise above a history of pain. The book is divided into six chapters, and six stages of healing: Falling, Burning to Ashes, Sparks of Phoenix, Rising, Soaring, and finally, A New Chapter, which demonstrates a healthy response to new love as the result of authentic healing. With her characteristic vulnerability, courage, and softness, Zebian seeks to empower those who have been made to feel ashamed, silenced, or afraid; she urges them, through gentle advice and personal revelation, to raise their voices, rise up, and soar.

Writing Typicality:Genre

  • Poetry
  • Philosophy
  • Self-Help

Common Themes

  • Love
  • Heartbreak
  • Growth
  • Healing
  • Coming of Age

Style

  • Descriptive writing through poetry and prose

Subject Matter

  • The search for a home
  • loving those around you as well as yourself
  • Offering advice
  • Empowering readers

Pieces showing typicalities

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3XLM5qhajC/

Advice to Writers + Specifically Us:

  • Writing was genuinely my only way of dealing with the world.”

 

  • “If you see writing as your path to peace of mind then it is cathartic. You are writing because there is something inside of you that needs to leave. But the process [of writing] also involves thinking about the things you need to change or identifying areas of self-­improvement. None of us receives criticism eagerly. Change is hard for everyone.”

We messaged her on Instagram and this is the response we got from her directly!

“The only advice I would give young writers is to be real and raw. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar or punctuation. Worry about pitting your thoughts and feelings on paper, as they are first. All of the other stuff comes later.

Don’t let the fear of what people think hold you back.

My three books were my journey to healing. Writing Mind Platter helped me understand life. Writing The Nectar of Pain helped me understand pain. And writing Sparks of Phoenix helped me understand my own power to rise.”

Analysis:

Don’t break a bird’s wings and then tell it to fly. 

Don’t break a heart and then tell it to love. 

Don’t break a soul and then tell it to be happy. 

Don’t see the worst in a person and expect them to see the best in you. 

Don’t judge people and expect them to stand by your side. 

Don’t play with fire and expect to stay safe. 

Life is about giving and taking. 

You cannot expect to give bad and receive good. 

You cannot expect to give hate and receive love. 

So if you’re willing to see a positive change in your life, you must be willing to be that change itself.

  • Contrast
  • Balance
  • Repetition
  • Illusions vs. Reality
  • Minimal Punctuation
  • Abstract & Concrete 
  • Carpe Diem feel 
  • Blank Verse
  • Periods=Definitive Statements

Emulation: 

Nectar of Pain: “When you walk away from your source of pain, you start healing”

Nectar of Pain: “Never wish them pain. That’s not who you are. If they caused you pain,they must have pain inside. Wish them healing. That’s what they need.”

Mind Platter: Thoughts Unexpressed: “There are so many thoughts that would be so much more beautiful if they were just kept as thoughts. Words sometimes don’t do justice to our thoughts and feelings. They are better kept inside to last a while rather than said and forgotten. Every thought has the right time to be verbalized, and every feeling has the right time to be expressed. Meanwhile, enjoy the thought, enjoy the feeling and give them the time they deserve to be as strong as you want them to be.” 

Mind Platter: Feel Me: “I can point you toward the sky, but I can’t make you reach for the stars. I can show you the moon, but I can’t make you feel its beauty or appreciate its light. I can show you the pathways that you can take, but I can’t make you walk down them…I can tell you how I feel, but I can’t make you care.”

My emulation:

” I said it before and I will say it again, there is a sadness attached to endings that no beginning can erase.”

I said it once and I will say it again,

you are in control of yourself.

Don’t let the people around you influence the way you live your life.

You hear those last words?

Your life.

It’s yours.

Take the power you have and do something.

If you think that you shouldn’t be associated with someone for certain reasons, then you have to learn to accept the fact that you are growing on different levels.

That you are trying to live your best life, but the fact that they aren’t on that level yet is weighing you down.

You need to remember that your life is yours.

If others cannot respect that, then they definitely are not worth your respect, time and tears.

Remember that, my love.

 

Sources:

https://www.amazon.ca/Mind-Platter-Najwa-Zebian/dp/1449492878 

https://www.amazon.com/Nectar-Pain-Najwa-Zebian/dp/1449492894

https://www.amazon.ca/Sparks-Phoenix-Najwa-Zebian/dp/1449496202

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14879821.Najwa_Zebian

https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/books/najwa-zebian-writing-was-genuinely-my-only-way-of-dealing-with-the-world-1.786901

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