Category: Poetry Festival

Watch the Poetry Reading – PLANTING SEEDS

Poetry performed by actor Amaka Umeh

Get to know Abu B. Rafique

1) What is the theme of your poem?

There are multiple themes that I try to touch on in my poem, love, wanderlust, youth, memory, but the biggest one is how people affect others. Everyone leaves some sort of an imprint on someone else, I like trying to look at how that can influence where people go from there and how they are as people afterwards.

2) How would you like people to respond when they read or watch your poetry reading?

Preferably in a good way, I’d be a little put off if someone absolutely hated me or something. But the fact that they react is the most important thing no reaction would just make me feel like I did nothing with my words.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

Since I was six years old. The first one I remember writing was about chicks. It’s the definitive work of a generation honestly.

4) Do you have a favorite poet?

That’s a hard one. If you threw together William Carlos Williams, Sylvia Plath, Rumi, and Allen Ginsberg, that’d probably be my favorite poet.

5) What influenced you to submit to the festival and have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

The chance to have another platform to share my work with people.

6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

Yes. I’ve got four books out actually, “Leave the Rice on the Windowsill (short story collection),” “Let’s Go Wandering (poetry collection),” “The Other Side of it All (more short stories),” and “The Chaotic Caffeine Fueled Collection (short stories and poetry).”

7) What is your passion in life?

Trying to connect through my writing.