Canvas Stories Podcast 2: Words for the Ocean

To say that Hasnaa Yadallee and Imaan Khadir are determined and inspirational would still be an understatement and not quite encapsulate the talent of these amazing young women.

Imaan, at just sixteen years old, is already at university. She readily admits that she has always had a strong personality and self-motivates once she has a goal in mind. With clear ambition and big dreams, she continuously challenges herself while motivating others.

Hasnaa, twenty, is in her second year at university studying Psychology. While this was not an obvious choice for her when initially considering a career path, she eventually decided to pursue it after reflecting on how she chose to express herself during childhood, along with her hyperawareness of how things were perceived and processed then.

Individually, both ladies have used writing as their creative outlet and are each respected Writers.

On August 19th, they decided to co-author and compiled an anthology, ‘Words for the Ocean.’ It was inspired by the MV Wakashio oil spill’s adverse effects in July of this year, with all proceeds from the books’ sales going towards NGOs working tirelessly to restore the affected lagoons in Mauritius.

This prose book was conceptualized when Hasnaa felt inclined to write something that brought awareness to the incident and bring Mauritian Writers together. As they often do, they bounced ideas off each other to express themselves and decided what medium would be the most effective to disseminate the information.

Hasnaa was thinking more along the lines of something concise, like a thoughtful Instagram post or contest. However, Imaan convinced her that they should think bigger and collaborate on a book instead.

So they put the word out on social media that entries were being accepted, and they didn’t limit the topics to the ocean or oil spill even though most of the book’s poems are about it.

Imaan recalls that within just one week, they received one hundred and fifty submissions.

Ironically, she also spent so much time critiquing and selecting the entries in addition to having a brief writer’s block, that she didn’t submit her poem until just a few minutes before their publishing house’s deadline elapsed.

When asked how she overcomes writer’s block, Hasnaa uses it to her advantage by riding it out instead of fighting against it. She usually finds herself having a surge of creativity once the lull passes, resulting in enough written content to satiate her ongoing creative projects.

While they agree on most things, how they each define success differs. Hasnaa appreciates when her works are published, but actual ‘success’ is not her main goal. She feels more connected when her readers can relate to her writing, especially after having a flood of creativity.

On the other hand, Imaan defines success as a writer by her specific writing process, usually multitasking and managing responsibilities within a very tight timeframe. However, “getting her message out” is more important to her than personal recognition.

They both emphasize staying true to themselves, allowing vulnerability and growth by enabling others to read their work and, by extension, judge their creativity.

For more information on what inspires each to write, or purchase ‘Words for the Ocean’ via it’s Facebook page; visit https://www.facebook.com/wordsfortheocean/?ref=page_internal.

Watch Canvas Stories Podcast 2: Words for the Ocean for their insight and opinions on how modern poetry is perceived, what defines a writer, and how they intend to promote writing in the future.

By Nadine A. Jack (XTM; 2020)