Fizza Abbas : part five

How does your work first enter the world? Do you have a social group or writers group that you work ideas and poems with?

My babies (If I may so) enter into the world spontaneously, without any planning, whatsoever! (I've not heard of birth control pills). At first, their possessive mama holds them close to herself, without letting anybody look at them. But eventually, their mama realises, she can't control their life so she introduces them to new people so they too can feel their presence. Their dad is a big support system. He is a good father and helps their mama to nurture them. 

Fizza Abbas : part four

Has your consideration of poetry changed since you began?

Of course! Earlier, it was all me-me-me! Now I write from the reader's perspective. Is it easy to understand? Will my reader connect with me? Am I being too funky over there? etc. And for some reason, it doesn't limit my creativity but challenges me to simplify complex emotions, and that's where all the fun is for me.

Fizza Abbas : part three

How do you know when a poem is finished?

It's a tough question. Umm, I guess, you just know it! For me, it's often when I often see a poem revealing its ending to me. Might sound odd. Let me explain it a bit. So, I have got this weird habit of personifying inanimate things; oftentimes, my poems talk to me, and wherever I feel my poem is too exhausted now, doesn't have much to convey to me, I know that's the end.

Fizza Abbas : part two

How did you first engage with poetry?

Ah, so many memories! I don't know how my first interaction with poetry happened or when it happened. But as I take a walk down memory lane, I see my mother, who was a huge fan of legendary singers like Mohammed Rafi and Lata, listening to some of their old Hindi songs, accompanying me. And since lyrics of those songs had been penned down by some of the most brilliant Urdu poets of that time like Sahir Ludhianwi, Majhrooh Sultanpuri, Anjaan and Hasrat Julpuri, some words of those songs would often stay with me.  

Fizza Abbas : part one

Fizza Abbas is a writer based in Karachi, Pakistan. She is fond of poetry and music. Her work has appeared in more than 100 journals, both online and in print. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Idle Ink, Poetry Village, The Cabinet of Heed, Petrichor, Riggwelter Press, Poetry Pacific, One Hand Clapping Magazine, London Grip, and elsewhere. Her first chapbook, Ool Jalool, won the Fahmidan Publishing 2021 Chapbook Competition and was released the same year, whereas the second collection, “Bakho” (A girl with unkempt tresses) has been published by Ethel Press in 2022. She has also been a Best of The Net nominee and Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition 2021’s shortlistee. She has also won a monthly poetry prompt contest organised by Oxford Brookes University. She is currently working on her goal to get published in 10,000 by the end of 2030. Besides writing, she runs an interview series for writers on her YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZrZRCg9m_Nk5HR3MOkLfsA). She can be reached out to at @fizzawrites on Twitter.

What are you working on?

Thank you for asking this question. I've recently completed my third chapbook, ''Lament of The Sunken'' which comprises over 30 nautical-themed poems written in a soliloquy-esque manner. Each of these poems expresses and alludes to different phases, trials and moments of my life. Aside from that, I'm working towards my goal to get published in 10,000 journals by the end of 2030.