Basmala and welcome to Drawn Over - A roaming blog, it would seem. As you (my few and cherished readers) will know, I’m fond of the delete button. I mean no disrespect by it, and hope it doesn’t translate as such, because I have sincere respect for the time and energy you put into reading my words. If you're looking for something from the past, I can send you a copy.
To
continue with my reflective and at times critical response to being an English speaking citizen
of this temporary home we call Earth. So far, 2013 has been far from a bed of
roses. A box of chocolates perhaps. Not because I didn't know what I was going to get (obviously I didn't), but because I was given a sweet gift and instead of opening it up and enjoying it I put it on the table and went out on my Brompton to share my news. By the time I got back I no longer had a table.
The sweet gift; on
Friday 11th of January, Influx Press informed me I'd been selected to
feature in their latest project, the upcoming anthology 'Connecting Nothing
with Something'. For which I was, and still am very honoured indeed. Thrilled to bits, to be more exact. It was a wonderful
start to the year. That is until they requested a short bio to sit alongside my
work in the book. I had some trouble with this, to say the least.
Three decades of absorbed trauma resurfaced over the following days as I tried to
carry out what should have been a simple task. I'm not sure of the exact chain
of events, but three weeks, a hijab related redundancy, and a notice of possession
later, I was done for. Then (and now at the risk of coming across melodramatic) I was reborn in the most visceral experience I’ve ever known. Perhaps more
on that later.
For
now, thank you Influx Press for asking this of me as it's been an interesting ride. I'm now left trying to answer a lot of questions about identity and culture.