"IGNITE" - POETIC PIECES FROM NAADIYA ISMAIL
 |
| Ignite - Naadiya Ismail (cover) |
The KREST House was founded under rebellious circumstances - that the world insisted artistic pursuits were not 'real careers', that they were just hobbies, and that we wanted to prove them wrong. Much of our team unshackled themselves from very traditional careers (everything from real estate, to financial planning) to join this mission and prove it true. It was only natural, then, that we should be drawn to Naadiya Ismail's work.
Naadiya Ismail's poetry is laced with the same kind of brazen spirit, the energy of someone who is ready to unabashedly reveal themselves for the artist that they are - without all the embarrassment that previously surrounded creative careers. As she says in the preface of her new book, "I finally confess it, then. I am accountant and wordsmith, scientist and romantic. I am unreason and optimism, and logical entanglement. And in both worlds – all worlds – I am conservative and modern, old-fashioned and untraditional."
For a bit of context, Naadiya Ismail is a financial accountant and - just as importantly - a poet. She graduated from the University of Witwatersrand with a BAccSci (Hons) in 2008, and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2011. Her taxation thesis won a national prize in the Honours category. She currently works in financial services in the Netherlands, and is completing her MBA at the University of Amsterdam. Simultaneously, she just released her debut poetry anthology.
The anthology, aptly titled "Ignite", is a collection of highly charged poetry that explores variations of leaving behind societal chains to truly, fiercely, rear into one's own power. This is true across all facets of its verses - from pieces about women who find their spark, to nations who learn how to raise their voice.
While one would expect the blurb to read something along the generic lines of 'beautiful poetry for women', the anthology continues to uphold its legacy of defying expectation, still, by placing perhaps its most beautiful piece right on the back cover.
She chose for herself
To dance like a naked flame
To lay her own claim
And when she chose for herself
She grew to love her given name
She chose for herself
To reveal her piercing light
To stand up and to fight
And when she chose for herself
She burned through emptiness with her bright
She chose for herself
To speak her truth to power
To no longer hide or cower
And when she chose for herself
She realised she did not need them to allow her
She chose for herself
To became the fire
To need no pyre
To reach higher
And when she chose for herself
She became taller
Bolder
Bright
She chose for herself
To choose herself
And learned in the end
To ignite
Why then, one would ask, should this book be read if its pinnacle is right there on the cover. The pages of "Ignite" by Naadiya Ismail are, rather, the journey to this piece in particular, and this point of liberation. This is an anthology that one reads for the experiential undertaking.
The book is available worldwide on the KREST Online Bookstore through the following links:
Comments
Post a Comment