Mustafa Ahmed: Spoken-Word Poet
Posted: February 26, 2014 Filed under: English Comments Off on Mustafa Ahmed: Spoken-Word Poet
Mustafa Ahmed (Spoken-Word Poet, born 1996, age 17, Toronto, Canada)
The Walrus, Feb. 19th 2014: Mustafa Ahmed interviewed by Julien Russell Brunet:
“My dad was a social worker. He used to give, even though we didn’t have much. I knew I wanted to help people too, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. And then I found poetry and I found the arts. I was writing about change, about Regent Park, the beauties of my life. Sharing my poetry, I felt like people connected.
I started off at ten years old, just writing to communicate with my sister. I thought it was cool and I loved doing it, but I also felt like I had a voice. As I grew older, my poetry grew as well.
When I’m dialed in, I love every moment of it. I just need to get in my own space and write. There’s this desperation: all of what’s inside just screaming at me to share my words. The most important thing is developing whatever feeling I have. If, as an artist, I’m unable to make myself vulnerable and allow myself to feel, I won’t be able to write.
…There will be weeks when I don’t write at all. And then [something] will happen. You never know when it’s going to come, but the evidence is there. All over my phone and in my drawer, there are bits of text everywhere: drafts, scraps, pieces of paper. Sometimes my mind races faster than my hand.
I’m writing through the journey. But, if I can’t continue it, I’ll stop and I’ll give it time. When I force the poetry, it’s horrible, it’s never good.”
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Mustafa Ahmed’s Spoken-Word video “Lost Souls” (released February 20th 2014):
http://www.mustafathepoet.com/news/2014/2/20/lost-souls-video
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