No one saw her flower.

No one truly saw her flower.

I mean, they saw her bud, they spread her petals,

prayed for dew, knew she was green,

Smelled her fragrance

Bottled her scent

But no one actually knew her...

- An excerpt from "Avatar", by Ismael Khatibu

You just heard a poem written by Ismael Khatibu, a poet who wants his community to grow more around the literary arts. As a poet and organizer for SLAM, Khatibu is making a difference in his hometown. WFDD Radio camper Una Wilson sat down with him.

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Ismael Khatibu is a tall and cheerful poet. I asked him what his inspiration was for starting the only Peidmont Spoken Literary Arts Movement, also known as SLAM.

I wanted to be a part of something that would have a monthly event, or some kind of regular event, but would also encompass not just an event but doing something that would help to create some kind of regular arts based type movement.

Of all other forms of writing he's tried, poetry has remained a favorite.

What kind of inspired me to write poetry is I always enjoyed writing… and you know, I would always try to write longer things like novels or plays, but the wonderful thing about poetry is that it is very much in the moment.

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“Even with past lives fluttering from

heaven like cast out angels,

her sins for the world to see, halos heavy,

weighty and wingless

playing wingtoss with stems,

no one knew her.

Just her stigma. 

- An excerpt from "Avatar", by Ismael Khatibu

Khatibu hopes SLAM will encourage more people to write and broaden their view of life through the literary arts.

For WFDD Radio Camp, I'm Una Wilson.

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