Behind the Mask

Four poems in 'Contemporary American Voices' and one in 'Myth Mash'

2009-04-02T00:19:00.003+03:00

A Verse of Disquiet published in the University of St Andrews annual creative magazine, Myth Mash.

Four poems, Lola Dancing on the Roof of the Ritz, Ashes to Ashes, Vanity Fair and Green Fields published in Lisa's fabulous Contemporary American Voices.

[Link to Contemporary American Voices]

Ashes to Ashes

Stardust glimmers patterns
of eternity along a moonlit sky,
falling in loops and curves
at my feet, fearing seclusion.

The night turns ashes of grey,
colour failing this, the ceiling
of our thought, the moon
a crescent bubbling behind
the charcoal clouds.

Hope flees this battle scene,
joy runs fast on its heel
as despair murmurs, blowing
softy on my mind.

'The Nature of Signs' in mgv2_en

2008-06-01T09:48:00.003+03:00

One of my poems, The Nature of Signs is in mgv2_en's inaugural issue. mgv2.0 is a magazine that was originally published from 1996-2000, then published online from 2002 onwards. However, it has previously accepted only French works, or work translated into French. This is the first issue it has accepted English poetry.

[Link to my poem]

'Vanity Fair' in Thanal Online

2008-05-14T21:58:00.002+03:00

Thanal Online, a bilingual online magazine which publishes both Malayan and English poetry, has published my poem, Vanity Fair.

[Link to the poem]

Six Poems & Bio in "Other Voices International Project"

2008-05-13T20:23:00.006+03:00

I now have a page in the Other Voices International Project, which I am truly honoured and happy to be a part of. If there's one place that has a culmination of world-class poetry online, it's that site.

I'm in Volume 32, alongside other wonderful poets. Roger Humes, the director of Other Voices called the collection Behind the Ebony of Our Destruction, which is a line from one of my poems, As They Do. The poems included are One Man, As They Do, Regard Me Sadly, The Painters and I, Just This Moment and Loneliness: A Mental Indisposition.

[Link to my page]
Note: the bio can be read by clicking on my name and the poems by clicking on the titles on the left-hand side.

Update on Soul to Soul

2008-05-11T10:23:00.006+03:00

I now have two pages at Soul to Soul. My new page, where updates will be, and my second page, where the older poems are.

The page is update with three poems, My Friend, And They Say, Hope and A Verse of Disquiet.

A Verse of Disquiet

We are the angry
generation, slamming
doors and breaking
hearts, living off
the last lie we told
as we scrape our legs
climbing out our windows,
looking right and left
trying to make sure
we remain unseen.

We are the Jimmys,
and all the Cliffs
are in hiding, underneath
their shame at sharing
this world with us,
or perhaps they're starting
to become extinct.

We fight for the right
to be separate; unique,
so colour me this:
a portrait of the sky
in orange, the stars like
glitter even in daylight
and our hearts on fire.

We are the generation
of no gaps, we wink
at each other cunningly
and yet; there are no secrets.

This is our world
that we claim is filled
with disquiet and yet
with every verbose patter
we ejaculate,
we dig ourselves deeper
into white noise.

Poem in All Things Girl and Featured at Soul to Soul

2008-05-09T18:34:00.006+03:00

One of my newer poems, Red Carpets, is in All Things Girl's current issue, Sacrifice.

Ruby Youth is this week's featured poem at Soul to Soul.

[Link to Red Carpets]

Ruby Youth

You walked around
with a lipstick stain
hovering near your lip,
just missing the curve
of your cheeks,
the dip in your lips.

You smoked
your last cigarette,
your eyes red,
your cheek tainted
with a lipstick mouth.

You shave, nicking
yourself in that gap between
the lips of that lipstick smile,
decaying, eroding your skin.

Wipe that lipstick off,
melt into the wave,
disappear and be found.

Pictures & Package from Clemson Arts Center

2008-05-08T10:19:00.011+03:00

I got sent the photos from the Clemson exhibit. The place looked really wonderful; I still can't quite believe my poem was the center of it all! I've posted some photos here, but follow the link below for the full album.

I also got a package today from Deborah. It had the exhibit handouts, some of the white cards (the kids did a great job, they're really cute), a card shaped like Van Gogh from her, the staff and artists of the Art Centre. Also, most amazingly -- the painting Lisa Marie did (fourth one down). I love it! Lisa also included a card. It was just a wonderful package to get.

All in all, I'm very honoured and flattered to have been selected for this.

[Link to full album].

PoemsAbout and Clemson Arts Centre

2008-04-07T23:54:00.004+03:00

I was surfing earlier and I apparently have six pages in PoemsAbout that I didn't know about. The site chose what they call Best Poems from Laala Kashef Alghata, which is a collection of 22 poems.

Also, the Clemson Arts Centre updated their site with a section about the Poetry in Motion exhibit, which is now offically over.

[Link to PoemsAbout]
[Link to PDF of I Want to Feel Van Gogh's Night]

'As They Do' in All Things Girl

2008-04-05T17:40:00.004+03:00

One of my more recent poems (which are few and far in between) is published on All Things Girl. I originally wrote the poem with three separate parts, and when published in a collection they will all be under the heading As They Do, with parts i, ii and iii. The poem currently on All Things Girl is part ii.

[Link]

Launch of Deborah Rey's Rachel Sarai's Vineyard.

2008-04-05T17:15:00.003+03:00

Deborah Rey's debut novel is looking to be a truly interesting read. For more information about the book, as well as how to buy it, visit her publishers at: http://bluechromeblog.blogspot.com/

Issue 3 of 'Write Me a Metaphor'

2008-03-03T00:26:00.005+03:00

I have finally managed to update Write Me a Metaphor. Between school, travel and my hard drive crashing, I have been busy.

This issue of Write Me a Metaphor features award-winning Greek poet Dimitris Kraniotis, Pushcart-winning poet G. David Schwartz, poet and PhD student Ernest Williamson III, teacher and accomplished writer Karen Pape, prolific poet Ray Succre, productive Canadian writer Suzanne Aubin and talented poet Zoë Migicovsky.

Please head over there and take a moment to read.

'Ashes to Ashes' and 'My Friend' in The Blotter

2008-03-02T21:15:00.002+03:00

I just recieved in the mail my five contributor copies of The Blotter.
Two of my poems, Ashes to Ashes and My Friend appear in this month's issue.

[Link]
(note: it's a PDF)

"I Want to Feel Van Gogh's Night" in Clemson Arts Centre

2008-02-27T18:47:00.010+03:00

I can pretty much die happy, now. Yesterday morning, I got an email. After I read it, I was trying not to shriek. It said:

Hello,
The City of Clemson, South Caronlina is working on a public arts initiative where poems will be displayed at buildings and landmarks throughout the city. The Clemson Art Center would like to display your poem, "I Want to Feel Van Gogh's Night", in their building. Do you know who I should contact about acquiring permission to display this poem?
Andy
Program Manager

Of course, I wrote back giving full permission for the poem to be used. Then, last night, I got another email. It made me absolutely estastic. It read as follows:

Hi Laala,
My name is Deborah and I am the Director for the Arts Center in Clemson, SC. I just received an email from Andy stating that you have given us permission to use your poem. Thank you so much! We had sifted through many, many poems and yours was just perfect for our needs!
Let me explain a little bit about how the center will be displaying your poem: We will be painting "I Want to Feel Van Gogh's Night" on the walls of our gallery and asking up to 25 artists to interpret your poem in any medium on an 8"x8" canvas to be hung with your poem. We are asking anyone that visits the gallery to write a poem, draw a picture or interpret your poem on white cards that we will then hang from the gallery ceiling. This will be an interactive exhibit centered around your poem.
We would like to extend a personal invitation for you to join our closing reception and if you're not able to attend we would be happy to take photos of the event and exhibit for you.
Thank you again, Laala!
Deborah
Arts & Education Director

I am just unbelievably happy to be recognized in such a huge way. I hope I make it there, but SC quite a distance away. Either way, I'm thrilled with it all. Possibly best piece of news I've ever heard. :)

Review in "Time Out"

2008-02-12T19:25:00.000+03:00

Behind the Mask: A Folded Heart
Laala Kashef Alghata

Prolific author Laala Kashef Alghata releases her second book, the follow-up to successful novel Friendship in Knots. The Bahraini writer opts for a poetry and prose collection this time, delving into her vast pool of material to put together Behind the Mask. It's a remarkable collection, crammed with a mixture of upbeat, introspective, sombre and celebratory poems about life, love, work and everything in the middle. Each piece feels painstakingly crafted, distilled down to its purest essence. Emotions range from the contemplative - 'Welcome to Limbo. We're all dead in this city' - in City of Limbo to the optimistic - 'Live, breathe, and forget how to curse, for a mere moment' in Just This Moment. Of course, it is not possible to scratch the surface of the variety and depth of this collection in just two extracts, by far the best way to convey such a message is to urge you to track down a copy of the collection for yourself. Each word feels like it has been tried and tested, selected only because it expresses the exact message of the author. Such attention to detail results in a truly remarkable collection, doubly impressive given Laala was 16 when it was published. Her work belies her youth and reveals a maturity of language that is a pleasure to experience.

It's a great review, I'm really happy with it.

"Loneliness: A Mental Indisposition" in Pens on Fire

2008-02-12T19:22:00.001+03:00

Two poems of mine, Loneliness: A Mental Indisposition and Together are in Feburary's issue of Pens on Fire.
[Link]

I am now also one of the Poets in Spotlight at Asian American Poetry. Link to profile below.
[Link]

3 Page Article in 'Woman this Month'

2007-11-24T21:52:00.000+03:00

Tips from a Teenage Author

Meet Laala Kashef Alghata, on the one hand, a regular teenager wrestling with too much homework and bothersome brothers; on the other hand, a twice-published author and poet. Here Laala gives parents a little advice on how to encourage their children to write.

[INTRO by CHRISTINA FERNANDES]

“So, what are you hobbies besides writing?” I ask Laala. Immediately, it dawns on me that the question, aside from being downright lame, is not very well phrased. Considering Laala has two published books under her belt, it’s probably a little insulting to call her writing a hobby. Nice going. Luckily, Laala doesn’t take offense.

She likes all the things many teenagers do – watching TV, going to the movies and especially painting (she’s taking A Level arts). But “People are the most important part of life, so whenever I have free time, I get on the phone with my friends or meet them,” says Laala.

She’s not your average girl. On the one hand, she is a regular teenager wrestling with everyday problems, such as too much homework and bothersome brothers. On the other hand, she is a twice-published author and poet, all the while maintaining top marks in school.

She might be one of those kids you would really hate if you were still in school; you know the ones that make you feel inadequate because they are such overachievers? But fortunately for her, Laala is much too nice to be disliked. She’s quick to smile, her eyes light up when she talks of her friends and her laugh is more contagious than chicken pox.

Laala’s feelings towards her first two books couldn’t be more different. Of her first, ‘Friendship in Knots’, she says: “I’m almost a little bit embarrassed about it. It’s very simplistic and doesn’t reflect my writing style now.” Nevermind that she wrote it when she was eleven. “But it was my starting point and in that way I’m proud of it.”

When she talks of her second book, ‘Behind the Mask: A Folded Heart’, Laala seems a lot more enthused. “I’m really proud of publishing it; even a year later,” she says.To some, it may be intimidating that she has achieved so much at such a young age, but Laala has stayed grounded and easily relates to other teenagers – WTM couldn’t have found anyone better to give parents a little advice on how to encourage their children to write.

Meet Laala

When confronted with people curious about my interest and ambition in writing, I am generally asked two questions more than any others: What made you begin writing? And, why do you write?

I’ll start with the former. At the time, it didn’t feel significant at all. It was incredibly simple: I was given a creative writing assignment for class, a fantasy story. I was nine, eager to please and enthused by the subject matter. I started writing and realised I didn’t want to stop.

I began writing outside of school. I would write four-page stories about mischievous children and talkative animals, print copies and amuse my relatives by handing them out. Needless to say, the stories themselves were poor, but I was beginning to find immense joy in the world of imagination, of shaping a world to what I wanted it to be.

As for the latter, I tend to return a baffled expression, and reply, “Well, why [ITALS] not write?” A friend once pointed out that this reply isn’t an answer. I’ll attempt to be clearer. To begin with, writing and seeing myself create, was like a high. When I pressed the stories on my friends and family, I received praise and smiles, though no one took it too seriously. Eventually, it became a release and an attempt at eloquence. Finally, it became familiar and as essential as water.

Once, when a teacher asked me what writing meant to me, I delivered an answer I believe is the most accurate description I could give: “Writing, for me, is like breathing. It may sound cliché, but it doesn’t change how vital it is for me. Writing is a release; when I’m upset and turn to it, it’s like a cool breeze on a hot summer’s day; but when I’ve got writer’s block it’s as uncomfortable and painful as wriggling out of a stronghold.”

Naturally, when I started writing my vocabulary was limited and dry; I didn’t give much thought to sentence structure or grammar. However, I was an extremely avid reader, and if I was to give only one suggestion it would be this: get the kids reading. As a tool, it was indispensable – my vocabulary increased exponentially, even my punctuation and grammar worked itself out. I would sound things out in my head, and know whether or not they were correct.

A good way to get children reading is to have books around them. I was lucky to love reading – I curled up in my bed and read Little Women when I was nine and cried my eyes out. I’d read at least a hundred books before I’d even left primary school. Reading lent an escape, a place to push the boundaries of imagination.

When I was ten, I began the first draft of Friendship in Knots, the children’s novel that made me the first Bahraini to publish a book directly in English, and the youngest to publish a book. At the time, the idea was rather loose, and I stumbled my way through the first half of the story. After completing it sometime when I was eleven, I abandoned the book for a while. I eventually got around to editing it and publishing it two years later.

I later became fascinated with language itself, which is when I branched off into poetry. My first attempts at poetry I would label disasters if it weren’t for the fact that I was thirteen and experimenting. Poetry was a new world – it was through this medium that I communicated my displeasure and grievances, spilled my thoughts onto paper and began to understand myself. There have been several instances in my life where the first place I would recoil to or fall back on is my poetry. It served a channel of communication primarily between me and myself – at times, poems personal to me are almost more raw than my thoughts. These poems are rarely seen at the time, though once time passes I’m more liberal with them.

I’ve been asked if my poetry – my writing – has given me a sense of confidence or has increased my self-esteem. I’m a pretty confident person; I was before my writing. So I can’t attribute that to it. Self-esteem, however, I can. As I began to get progressively better, I felt a sense of elation, of doing something that included a certain level of talent. One has to have some conviction in themselves, though, when writing – it has become unfashionable. Poetry is considered by many to be dead.

I find this endlessly sad – people glance at Milton’s verses, for instance, and expect all poetry to be equally inaccessible. The ordinary beauty has dissipated. I want to stand and scream, “IT HASN’T!” The beauty is still available in plentiful supply. You just have to learn where to look. Poets such as E. E. Cummings are much more appealing to people being introduced to poetry. For instance:
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)

My first two years of poetry were cliché-imbued or prose broken up by line breaks. It was only when I was close to turning sixteen that something clicked and my poetry took on a whole new meaning, a different level. I worked frantically at it, producing more work than I had ever done before, spent the summer editing and by the end of last September, I published again.

Behind the Mask: A Folded Heart is a work I am incredibly proud of, produced with plenty of passion and emotion. I genuinely believe it to be an interesting and easy read. I frequently flip through the pages for inspiration in my newer work.

To end, though, I say this: first, the reason I am so completely in love with writing is that it is mine. I was encouraged but never overtly, and I was left to improve myself in whatever way I saw fit. While diffident or fastidious children will need more support and praise; in my opinion, forcing them will do little to help. Second, while writing does – of course – require talent and dedication but it begins in children’s tales, as most authors will readily tell you.

Laala’s 10 Tips to Help Your Children Write:

1. Make them read. Then read some more.
2. Don’t force it, but encourage them and give small rewards to those who have finished a book, for instance.
3. Don’t make them read something you know they will have no interest in.
4. Encourage them to write down thoughts, ideas, and to keep a diary or notes of their day. Let this be private, unless they wish to share it.
5. Understand that their imagination works in different ways than yours, and go along with it.
6. Read through drafts of stories and praise them. If they’re young, or are just beginning to experiment, do not criticise as this will make them feel like failures.
7. As they grow up, or grow better, begin to point out weaknesses or flaws. Keep pointing out the good things, too.
8. If they show interest, don’t let them drop it because they’re grown up.” Persuade them to write about different things and let their mind wander.
9. Understand that sometimes they will write things that they will keep from you, either because it is personal, or because they don’t think it’s good enough.
10. Let them see that you, too, read and occasionally write. You are their primary model, and if you encourage them without expressing an interest yourself, or if they never see you with a book, it won’t reinforce the ideas.

Two Poems printed alongside the article:

Texts of Emotion and Unique Fingerprints

My senses are imbedded deep within my mind’s monastery
with monks scribbling in focus to copy texts of my emotions
to record feelings and lies into my subconscious and desert
me in my reality, to make me able to wake from dreams
of all-consuming darkness, of my heart disappearing
and dissolving with acid to corrode life, those that I hold precious
unavailable, miles in between some of us and lies between
the others, such tight knots that life knits in the canvas
of our skin, irreplaceable prints of significance making
everyone unique unto themselves, a fingerprint to the world,
but an identity to me.

Just This Moment

A shimmer in the corner of a half-closed eye
deceives and perceives a wave of anguish,
falling, rolling, splashing on the shore.
Pushing back the golden yellow sand
because nothing is that pure,
that small and fine. Digging into beauty
and throwing it back up in the air,
messing around with it,
changing it into something it’s not.

Lips crash violently against the tide
and try to hide the passion and anger
that birthed their power.
Just grip, hold on, and perhaps
you’ll stay and not end up
in some random world,
where everyone talks, walks,
and even strays the same.

Lose yourself in pointless beauty
and pinpoint the time that your life
took its turn for the better,
and forget every twist it took
that left you lost, cold, and hungry.

Catch and stroke a butterfly,
in another lifetime or this one.
Paint all the colours
that you see in the sky
to create the world’s one masterpiece,
then hide it amongst the clouds.

Live, breathe, and forget how
to curse, for a mere moment.

'Be in Love' in The Love Book

2007-11-15T13:32:00.000+03:00

I was surfing online earlier today, and I found a poem of mine, Be in Love on a site called The Love Book. I wasn't informed of her wanting to post my poem, but since she gave me credit I don't find fault in it and am flattered.

[Link]

The Peregrine Muse

2007-10-26T16:40:00.000+03:00

I am a featured poet at the newly-established The Peregrine Muse. My poetry can be found on this page, and it will be updated, albeit rarely.

Go over and enjoy.

Two pieces in LaFen's "Reflections" Issue

2007-09-14T20:15:00.000+03:00

La Fenetre, a wonderful e-zine birthed in Jan, has made the decision to burn out and not fade away. This issue is the last but one. Reflections, the Sept/Oct issue, featured a poem and a prose piece by yours truly. The print version of Reflections will be on sale on 25th Sept, via the site.

Links:

So
Despite the Splinters in My Heart, I Still Love

Two poems in All Things Girl

2007-09-01T16:50:00.000+03:00

Two of my poems, Fading Need and Children No More appear in this month's "Moving On" issue of All Things Girl.

Links:

Fading Need
Children No More

Featured Poem at Soul to Soul

2007-08-24T15:46:00.001+03:00

This week's Featured Poem as Soul to Soul is my poem, Loneliness: A Mental Indisposition.

Loneliness is not some chosen path
but an obsession maintained carefully,
analogous to mental disease,
the mental indisposition to let oneself
be loved or feel at ease. Loneliness
bites, it severs our sentiment
and leaves us with poetry in our veins.

Loneliness is not a shelter, it does
not give refuge from the storm.
It is bland, colourless and blind
until spliced open, when it chokes
on the metaphors bubbling underneath.

Two poems in Kritya

2007-08-23T12:50:00.000+03:00

Two of my poems, Beauty Evapourated and Past the Heavens can be found in Kritya, an online journal of poetry.

Past the Heavens can be found here, alongside the rest of the issue. To find my poem, press CTRL+F and type "Laala". It'll take you there. Past the Heavens is also the featured poem of the "Poetry in our Time" section of the site.
Beauty Evapourated can be found here, with my biography.

Three more in LaFen's Sundowner issue

2007-07-24T15:54:00.000+03:00

I have two poems and a prose piece in La Fenetre's wonderful new issue, Sundowner. Please head over to the site and browse around, and if you like what you see, support them by buying a hard copy of this issue.

Links:

The Silence Behind Your Words
Kiss My Knuckles While I Hold Your Soul
Child Naïvité

My poems in Poetry Life and Times

2007-07-03T18:23:00.000+03:00

I am a Featured Poet in this month's Anti-War Issue of Poetry Life and Times. It looks like a great issue, with plenty of talented contributors.

You can find my poems, Crimson Death and You Paint War on this page. I am the first featured poet.

Enjoy it!

Asian American Poetry

2007-06-15T16:04:00.000+03:00

Two of my poems have been accepted at Asian American Poetry, and the Editor-in-Chief, Mor Chang, wants to make me one of the Poets-in-Spotlight, highlighting my poem Just This Moment. That will go up in a couple of weeks, but for now, you can view Texts of Emotion and Unique Fingerprints on AAP.

Link:

[Texts of Emotion and Unique Fingerprints]

World Poets Society

2007-06-08T13:59:00.001+03:00

I forgot to mention that a few months ago I became a member of World Poets Society, "A Literary Organization for Contemporary Poets from all around the World."

My listing can be found by pressing CTRL+F and typing "Laala" and searching. It includes links to both this site and WMM.

And here's a poem I wrote back in Nov, which I haven't published anywhere:

And They Say, Hope

i.

When we reach
the end of the rope
and come close
to collapsing,
we turn to the wise

ii.

& they say, have hope.
Like it's the easiest thing
to keep a hold of,
forgetting that hope
is slippery

it slides from
between our fingers,
disappears into
the shadows
to make us forget.

iii.

& they say, have hope.
Like it's something
you can have servings of,
a spoonful with every meal.

But it is not a drug
though I wish it were;
I would take it.

iv.

& they say, have hope.
Like it's something
they're offering us.

Update on Soul to Soul

2007-06-02T17:53:00.001+03:00

Joneve's accepted another two of my poems onto my page at Soul to Soul.

Links:

Fans of Dali
Dream On

New Issue of Write Me a Metaphor now Up and Running!

2007-05-29T19:30:00.000+03:00

The new issue of Write Me a Metaphor is now live!

For those who don't know, WMM is my own online poetry and prose journal.

This issue is absolutely fantastic -- I got some really wonderful submissions. It features the work of English Professor Ed Higgins, poet and photographer Jonathan J Ames, host of Soul to Soul Joneve McCormick, aspiring poet Nicholas Yancey, successful poet Wes Bishop and me.

Please head over to www.writemeametaphor.com and look at the beautiful poetic work on show, please feel free to email queries or feedback at writemeametaphor@gmail.com. Any submissions will also be welcome, take a look at the submissions page on the site and please follow the guidelines. I can't read submissions that don't.

There is a couple more changes to be made to the site, but they're slight -- just the addition of a "Links" page to other great journals and ezines etc.

That's it for now.

Featured Poem on Soul to Soul

2007-05-22T23:57:00.000+03:00

"Texts of Emotion and Unique Fingerprints" is this week's featured poem at Soul to Soul.

Update on Soul to Soul

2007-05-12T10:19:00.001+03:00

Joneve's accepted another two of my poems onto my page at Soul to Soul.

Links:

The Book of Life
Beauty Evapourated

"Fans of Dali" in La Fenetre

2007-05-08T23:14:00.000+03:00

La Fenetre's Summer Magic issue came out a few days ago, with my poem, Fans of Dali, in it.

[Link to the poem].

Fans of Dali

Dali doesn't need us. Doesn't need
our awe or our excitement at being
amongst his pieces in London or
St Petersburg. His clocks will melt
whether we watch the time or not,
his rose will hang in wonder
whether we press our breath
in the empty space between it
and the sand plains underneath.

Dali doesn't need us looking
into the shadows of his self-portrait
or testing the strength of the sticks
holding up his dream.

Dali knows that he doesn't need
us like we need him, and that
no matter what he does, his art
drips its way into our hearts
and like his clocks, melts and forms
around our thud. thud. thud.

The world has their clocks, and most
go on daylight savings, ever-changing.
We have our clocks. They're Dali,
and they're everlasting.

© 2007 Laala Kashef Alghata

'Undying' in SubtleTea

2007-04-06T17:49:00.000+03:00

This quarter's issue of SublteTea is up and running, and it features a poem of mine, Undying.

[Link to Undying on SubtleTea].

Update on Soul to Soul

2007-04-03T19:28:00.001+03:00

Joneve (the editor at Soul to Soul) has updated my page at Soul to Soul with another two poems, My Heart Complains and Past the Heavens.

Links:

My Heart Complains
Past the Heavens

Poem in All Things Girl

2007-03-12T15:47:00.000+03:00

The March/April issue of All Things Girl, whose theme is 'Heartbreak', is now up and running. It's a great read, take the time to go check it out.

It features one of my poems, My Heart Complains.

[Link]

Update on Soul to Soul

2007-03-06T21:53:00.001+03:00

I updated my page at Soul to Soul with two poems, His Watchmen Never Fell Asleep and The Departed.

Links:

His Watchmen Never Fell Asleep
The Departed

Six pieces in LaFen's Second Issue

2007-03-05T19:00:00.000+03:00

La Fenetre, a really wonderful poetry and prose site recently launched in January, has just launched their second issue, which hosts six of my pieces, three poems (The Painters and I, Dali's Rose and Death, "Goodnight") and three prose (Yes, Represent and City of Limbo).

It really is an amazing site, and I'm proud to be a part of it. There's a print version, too, which corresponds with every online issue. The print issue will be out by late March. It's exciting for me, because it's the first many-person anthology I will feature in.

Links:

The Painters and I
Dali's Rose
Death, "Goodnight"
Yes
Represent
City of Limbo

Birthday

2007-02-18T23:30:00.001+03:00

It's my birthday today! I have finally turned seventeen.

Two new poems in Argotist Online

2007-02-11T17:01:00.000+03:00

I've had another two poems accepted into Argotist Online, I Want to Feel Van Gogh's Night and The Nature of Signs.

They can be found on my page at Argotist Online.

That's it for now.

Update and Featured Poem on Soul to Soul

2007-02-03T17:20:00.001+03:00

I updated my page at Soul to Soul with two poems, The Nature of Signs and Draw, Speak and Describe Love.

I got an email yesterday informing me that The Nature of Signs is this week's featured poem.

Poet-in-Residence at ArgoBoat, plus blurb

2007-01-26T22:59:00.000+03:00

I am the newest poet-in-residence at Argo Spier's ArgoBoat. My collection on there, titled Yellow Sand (title given by Argo), is a mix of poems from Behind the Mask: A Folded Heart and some newer material. Altogether, there are twenty poems featured.

Argo Spier also wrote a wonderful blurb about my writing, which can be found on my page at his site.

Laala Kashef Alghata lives and studies in Bahrain.

Yellow Sand, her present collection of verse, portrays her as a meticulous observant of the world around her. With full bodied verse she charters her sharp observances and describes the things and occurrences that surrounds her. And always there is reflection of her inner position in relation to the events that take place.

Yellow Sand takes the reader on a tour of tranquility and shows him with very clear transparency where the poet stands with her inner feelings. Playing with single themes and using modern metaphors, she describes the universe as it opens up to her. Topics such as hope, the absolve of absence and the cure for love, that is the duality of her love affair with the world she lives in and the love she experiences for the absent yet always calling Muse, give Yellow Sand a universality that transcends her own base locality.

Verse such as the following make of Laala Kashef Alghata an up-coming young poet of great promise. The reader will find her work accessible and quite enjoyable.

'Distance means
my fingers pressing
melodies with keys
instead of into your arms
as I pull you into my embrace.

Distance is
a form
of torture.

Distance can
be overcome.'

-Argo Spier

My page at the ArgoBoat.

Poet-in-Residence at Soul to Soul

2007-01-24T16:51:00.000+03:00

I have been going through a tough time recently, as my grandfather passed away a week ago. It's hard and it's going to be hard for a long time.

Good, writing-related news however: I am now a poet-in-residence at Soul to Soul. I have a page there now, which I plan to update every month. The editor loves my writing and I'm very flattered.

Link to my page on Soul to Soul.

Go, read, enjoy.

Write Me a Metaphor.

2007-01-12T21:32:00.000+03:00

So, that surprise project that I was going on about?

I've started my own online poetry and prose journal! An ambitious project, and one I am committed to. Feel free to read, enjoy, and if appropriate, submit.

This quarter's issue features the poetry of Lisa Zaran, Zoe Migicovsky, Alyssa May Trifone and myself.

Write Me a Metaphor, an online poetry journal and the brainchild of Laala Kashef Alghata.

Amazon

2007-01-08T15:39:00.000+03:00

Amazon just sent me an email ordering more stock of my book. They sold the one I sent them! I'm insanely pleased. The level of my excitement may seem silly to some, as this is definitely not the first book I've sold (I've sold a fair few); but it is the first one to someone I don't know outside of Bahrain. People in the USA, Canada, UK, Oman and UAE (and Sweden, soon) have copies of my book, and they paid for it, but they're people who have been reading my poetry online for at least a year, thus I know them a little. This time, it's someone overseas and I've no clue who.

I'm a happy little poet.

Poetry in Because We Write

2007-01-07T00:56:00.000+03:00

My poetry is now also in the inaugural issue of Because We Write.

Link to my poems, Texts of Emotion and Unique Fingerprints and Just This Moment.

Work in ezines.

2007-01-06T17:34:00.000+03:00

My piece, So, had been accepted into this month's issue of All Things Girl a couple of months ago. The issue is now finally live and looks great!

Link to my prose piece, So.

Voice Newspaper is a new (as of Jan 2007) paper comprising of poems, prose, essays and art. If you're interested in submitting something, they can be reached at voicestaff@yahoo.com. They wrote to me a few months ago asking for permission to include of my pieces. I said yes, and their first issue is now out. It's in PDF format, so once I find a link where others can download it, I'll post it here. Regardless, it's a publication credit.

That's it for now. I'm off.

Acceptance.

2007-01-04T17:54:00.000+03:00

This is going to be brief, I'm in the middle of studying for my exams. But, I got another acceptance, this one at Argotist Online.

Link to my poem, Dali's Rose.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T14:18:00.000+03:00

Well, welcome, 2007. I wonder how this year is going to go. At any rate, I hope it's a good one for my writing. In my next post I'll hopefully have links to places where my writing is appearing this month. I'm pleased at the acceptances, though the rejections did dampen my spirits a little. Regardless, I'm waiting on replies from another handful of places, so we'll see how it goes.

The 'surprise project' is just great. I wanted to launch it today but that won't be possible. Just blame my dreadful HTML skills. But, it should be ready within a few days and I'll be announcing it then.

Apart from a brief post with the links to my writing, I'm going to try my best to tone down on the writing front for a couple of weeks. My AS levels are fast approaching (just a week away, now) and studying really should be my priority.

That's all for now.

Acceptance and a Review

2006-12-15T19:26:00.000+03:00

Another review that really warmed my heart:

Laala's ability to convey the pains and pleasures of a coming of age in a world frought by controversy and conflict is nothing short of genius. She paints emotions as vibrantly as an artist, and conjours images that are so prolific that they linger in the reader's mind long after the book is closed. 'Behind the Mask: A Folded Heart' is an unforgettable journey into the mind of a poetic prodigy far ahead of her time. With such superb imagery, this chronicle is both visceral and tender hearted. An enjoyable read, and hopefully, a portent of more to come from this extraordinary author.

-Jezzy Wolfe "Jez" (Viginia, Usa)

Also, I've been accepted at SubtleTea. I'm not quite sure when the poem will appear (probably January or thereabouts), but when I do know I'll link to it.

The surprise project that I mentioned is coming along fantastically. It's beta version is completed and it should be ready to launch on the day I wanted to do it - 1 January 2007. I'm really pleased, very apprehensive but overall excited.

On the Waterstone's front, we've reached an agreement. We've signed a trade agreement, but they won't stock the book unless its either well promoted in the UK or if someone from Waterstone's reads its and gives a favourable review. I chose the latter option, and mailed them a copy yesterday. Let's hope their reply is favourable.

That's it for now.

Reviews

2006-12-10T17:49:00.000+03:00

A couple of the best reviews I've gotten:

“Behind the Mask: A Folded Heart” is a warm and complementary mix of the scribbling of a teenage girl and a passionate and powerful set of works written by an honest poet. In this collection, Laala manages to grab hold of the deepest and darkest of our emotions and mold them into shining monuments. She isn’t afraid to be open; to be able to portray her true emotions without a trace of fear or discomfort. This is apparent throughout her writing and is truly inspiring for readers like myself. This particular volume is a refuge for me; a hideaway from the outside world, for minutes at a time.

-Taufiq Khan

I must say your book is an interesting insight of yourself - intelligent yet simple and very inspiring.

As an artist, your book is a refreshing representation of a uniquely talented teenager - the words and the poems itself. I would say that your future publishers will be delighted in your endeavours. It's inspiring for them to know how invaluable your works are - now and in the decades to come. As for the ordinary audience who will see the book, they will be romanticized at first and spirits uplifted the next. It will be an outburst of new emotions as I dare say. The book is easy to digest and direct in layout. I say the book is a must have.

Kudos to you... really great book.

-Maria Vivero

World Aids Day

2006-12-01T19:06:00.000+03:00

So today's World Aids Day. It's something that still needs more awareness, especially for the orphans in Africa who suffer because of AIDs.

Writing-wise, I'm on a semi-hiatus. I'm still constantly writing poetry and prose, I'm still waiting on replies from several online journals and e-zines, I'm still trying to get my book out there. I'm also actually working on quite a large and ambitious project - it's a surprise for now, but details will follow very soon, hopefully. It will definitely be done by January. I'm excited, and so are the few who know about this.

There's only a couple of weeks left of school, then three weeks of 'holiday'. In reality, of course, all us sixth formers are going to spend a large amount of time studying for our first AS exams in January.

I think that's it for now.

The Book

2006-11-15T18:42:00.000+03:00

So Behind the Mask: A Folded Heart has now been out for a month. I had the first book signing at the Bookcase on Friday 13th October (yes, the unlucky factor was pointed out to me repeatedly). It went well. The book's stocked at the Bookcase. I've spoken to Bookplus and they've agreed to take the book on, but I'm still wondering whether I want to go ahead with it. It's on Amazon (follow the link above) as well.

The main problem with me right now is that I'm too busy with my schoolwork to follow my book's progress thoroughly. It's highly aggravating as it could go so much further if I could just have time to focus on it. That said, I have actually been in discussions with Waterstone's (the UK's leading bookstore) about stocking it, and they've agreed. We're just finishing up the forms and such at the moment.

In other, writing-related news, my poetry can now be found at Poet's Haven and Poem Hunter. It has also been accepted into All Things Girl (Jan/Feb issue) and Because We Write. I'm currently waiting on replies from several other online poetry magazines and e-zines.

That's all for now. I must sign off and go attend to the astonishingly high pile of homework waiting for me.