Poets Against Inequality Read online

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  Kareem Akadri, Nigeria (currently in UAE)

  — My name is Akadri Kareem Afinbiowo D. I was born on 4th Oct. 1993 in Nigeria. I come from a big family name, ‘Akadiri’, in Owo Local Government, Ondo State. I grew up in Owo local government, where I attended my primary school from Fourah bay International Nursery and Primary school, and later graduated to Secondary school, Imade College. I’m currently living in United Arab Emirate, where am working & studying B.A in Political Science. My passion is to speak & stand for the masses who are struggling in this crazy world of inequality and terrorism. I am a writer, poet and political analyst. Some of my poems have been published in newspapers and magazines.

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  Saadat Tahir Ali, Pakistan (currently in Saudi Arabia)

  — I was born (Jan. 1965) and bred in Pakistan. A medical doctor by profession, with postgraduate qualifications in Radiology, I'm currently living in Qaseem, Saudi Arabia. My hobbies include indoor plants, interiors and woodwork.. and making friends. Over the years, I have traveled to many countries and as a reasonably experienced traveler, I am a senior reviewer on travel and foodie sites. I like nature landscapes architecture and history. I am averse to concrete jungles. I am a diehard audiophile. I consider myself a wide eyed student, ready to listen, learn and improve. I loved poetry when I was at school, started writing decades back while at cadet high continued through to King Edward Medical College. Freedom from bondage in all forms and colours, love and universal brotherhood are my cherished values. I am an incorrigible romanticist and love music. I write my mind.. I'm not an expert poet just someone who likes to read and write..

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  Denis Andrei, Romania

  — My full name is Varga Denis Andrei, aged 24. I'm studying for my Master Degree in Sociology at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Social inequality is one of the subjects I am interested in, studying and even participating in an NGO for advocacy and social justice. I see this project important 'cause inequality is a major problem in human society.

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  Tia Attwood, Australia

  — I was born in Cessnock; Australia on the 15th of November 1980. I had grown up in both the hunter valley and central coast region of New South Wales. I currently live in a small country town called Trangie, in the North West of N.S.W, with my four beautiful children aged 15, 12, 11 and 9.

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  Kasiviswanathan Balakrishnan, India (currently in UAE)

  — Using the pen name of Kasiviswanathan Perinkulam to write free verses, my full name is Kasiviswanathan Kunnanath Balakrishnan, born in 1972 in Kerala, India. A bachelor loving classical poetry and philosophy, I now live in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, working as a financial professional.

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  Anna Banasiak, Poland

  — Born in Poland in 1984, I live in Łódź, in the central part of the Country. I’m a poet and literary critic. You can find me on poemhunter.com, but a number of my poems can be read also on different websites. I’m interested in art and psychology.

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  Khaoula Basty, Tunisia

  — Born in April 1987, I live in Manouba, Tunis, and began writing poetry in my early twenties. Over the years I have been involved in various Poetry projects and clubs. I now find a lot of inspiration through my job as an English teacher, because this gives me the opportunity to meet a variety of people who encourages me to write. I love also reading books and spend my free time reading. My happiness is when I buy a new book and enjoy reading it. My happiness is when I write a poem or a thought. I think that writing means “I am” —I am present, I still breath: I suffer no more. Writing is power. I usually write about love, hope, despair, peace, war and religion. One of my poems is in the compilation ‘Poetry Against Terror’. Peace and Love from Tunisia.

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  Lawrence Beck, USA

  — I've been asked to provide a brief biography of myself. I'm reluctant to do this for two reasons. First, knowledge of the person who wrote the poems can affect one's apprehension of those poems. I would rather that wasn't the case. Second, my life has been neither interesting nor noteworthy. I live in the USA, in Nebraska, with my wife and two of my four children. My wife and I are not native to this blandly attractive, relentlessly sunny area. We grew up in the Pacific Northwest, which features spectacular scenery, but also quite gloomy weather. I have brought that gloom with me, and it often shows up in my poems. Though I graduated from college, my degrees are in economics, not English or literature. I currently work part-time hauling freight in the back of a department store. My background, my distance from the “lit-crit” department/workshop hothouse, and my real-world job probably help to give my poems their unusual matter-of-factness. So, too, does my intense admiration for Elizabethan English poetry. I honestly believe that English language poetry, for the most part, steadily has declined since that era. You will notice that only one of the poems published here has a title. This is how I prefer to present my poems, as titles also can affect apprehension. However, I give titles to my poems when I put them onto others' websites because readers seem to expect titles. I hope that you find them enjoyable.

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  Abhilasha Bhatt, India

  — I am from India, born 23 years ago in “devbhumi”, literally “land of gods”, named Uttarakhand, a state in the northern part of India. When I was 2 years old, my family came to Delhi, where I’m currently living. I have done b-tech, now I'm an engineer. Love to write my thoughts and emotions in the form of poetry, and also short stories. I am writing poems from 8th grade. Some of them are published and I'm going to publish a collection of my poems, as a book, very soon. Love my country and always try to figure out its different colors, cultures and rituals in the form of poetry.

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  Daniel J. Brick, USA

  — I was born in Minnesota, in the Twin Cities, in 1947 and lived my whole life here. This is where I am rooted, near the Mississippi River, in a landscape of four seasons with many trees and parks and lakes. These are the natural things I treasure. Poetry and classical music are my passions. Over the years most of my friends have moved to warmer climates, so in old age I find myself to be something of a loner. But I have a talent for solitude.

  Latest eBook published: “The Double Door” – English Edition.

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  Mayjorey Buendia, Philippines

  — I'm Mayjorey Dellosa Buendia, from Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines. I am 35 and a graduate of Business Administration, Major in Management. I find solace and peace with nature, arts, poetry reading and writing. I'm also into Women's Empowerment & Independence.

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  Sophy Chen, China

  — Sophy is my pen name, the official name is Lihua Chen. I am a Chinese contemporary poetess and translator, born in 1975 in Lueyang County, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province. I graduated from English Institute of Xian Foreign Studies University in English Literature. I am the Founder of “Sophy Poetry & Translation Website” and its Chief Reviewing Editor, a researcher of the International Poetry Translation and Research Center, a guest chief editor of The World Poets Quarterly (Multilingual) and a member of the Translators Association of China. I began to write Chinese poetry in 1989, and English poetry in 2004. I've published my own poetry (English or Chinese) and translations, in newspapers and magazines. I've translated part of poems in the Chinese-English Textbook "300 New Chinese Poems (1917-2012)" and in World Poetry Yearbook 2013/2014 - and also proofed the three books. I was awarded the “Legendary Poet” in 2012 by the international renowned English poetry website poetry.com . In the same year I won the annual “International Best Translator” Award 2012, issued by IPTRC. In 2014, I won the Chinese Contemporary Poetry (2013-2014) Translation Award. I've translated six Chinese poetry collections into English: The Flower Swaying (2014), the original author, Zhao Xingzhong, Tibetan Incense (2014), poetess purple shadow (ZiYing), and The Outlook of Life (2014), Yang Ruopeng, Different Tunes(2014) by poetess Gre
ensleeves, and The Body Forward (2015) by painter Tan Jun, A Poetry Biography for White Snake by Liao Shidie, etc. I'm currently living in Guangzhou, China.

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  Sahra Hussein Dahir, Somalia

  — I was born in 1996. I grew up in Somaliland (north Somalia, which separated from Somalia in 1991, but is unrecognized internationally) and currently live there. In my spare time, I enjoy playing basketball, writing poems and reading. I am introverted, left-handed, and according to ‘sixteen personality types’ of the Myers-Briggs, I am an INTP person. I am an open-minded person who likes to learn about different cultures and meet different people. My father died when I was 12 years old. After my father’s demise, I faced difficulties. I could not change what was happening around me, so I took a journey to find what makes me happy. I find my life easier when I am alone and thinking about my imaginations. To explore more I focus on educating myself. After I took the Somaliland national examination (examination for the 8th grade students in all the country), I found a boarding school that is located outside of Hargaisa. The biggest reason I went to such a school was to get a good education to achieve a better life. I have had different experiences and found out the best qualities I have: I am a talented and creative person. I have earned three awards in my high school for first place in cross-country running. I have learned two foreign languages (English and Arabic) and I graduated in 2015. I started writing poems when I was in tenth grade. Part of me was eager to share my emotions and the things that were going around me, because one of my interests was to tell stories. My experience is what inspires my poetry the most. Writing poems is the way I express my feelings, and it is a way to escape from the hard times and enjoy good times.

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  Anish Debnath, India

  — I am a school teacher – teaching Mathematics for almost 7 years. I was born in1984 in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Kolkata is the city where I currently live.

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  Luka Dezmalj, Croatia

  — I am in my 30s, living in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, and I usually write under the pseudonym Sergej Dezmaljevic. Not married, don't have kids. I love satire as an educational tool, and love writing poetry.

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  Asavri Dhillon, India

  I was born in 1998 in Chandigarh, India, where I'm currently living. I'm a Pre-Medical student currently studying in The British School (I finished high school last year, grade 12). My school life has not been a "happy'' one. I have my poems published on poemhunter.com and some other web sites. One of my poems, 'In The Winter's Bough', was published in 'Contemporary Vibes', a literary magazine. I've also recited my poems in literary gatherings. I believe in 'Humanity' (it is my sole religion), and I value 'words' more than 'actions', because actions can kill, words can't. I wish the world was united and not divided.

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  Fabrizio Frosini, Italy

  — Born in Tuscany in Sept. 1953. Currently living close to Florence and to Vinci, Leonardo's hometown. Doctor in Medicine, specialized in Neurosurgery, with an ancient passion for Poetry. Author of c. 1500 poems, in 13 collections. Seven of them are published as eBooks. Among them: «The Chinese gardens – English Poems», and «Karumi – Haiku & Tanka» [link to Author’s Page – or read a poem on PH]

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  Alem Hailu G/Kristos, Ethiopia

  — Since in Ethiopia we use our age-old style to name a new born child (chosen Name, Father's Name, Grandfather's Name): Alem is my name, Hailu is my father's name and G/Kristos is my grandfather's name. Born in Ethiopia in 1974, I live in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia capital city, where I'm currently deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Ethiopian Herald. M.A holder in literature, from Addis Ababa University, I'm a published poet, novelist, editor, translator of masterpieces, literary critic, playwright and journalist. Visit my blog.

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  Majid Gaggi, Iraq (currently in USA)

  — I was born in 1956, in Bakhdeda, a town near Mosul [about my birthplace: it was taken by Isis and all its people, about 50,000, were forced to leave their houses]. I got my degree in mechanical engineering in 1978 and have worked as a teacher at Mosul technical institute for 26 years. Now I live in San Diego, California. I used to write poetry in Arabic; only a few months ago I started writing in English.

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  Dimitrios Galanis, Greece

  — Ι was born on 7th Aug 1945 in a mountain village of northwest Greece, Patero-Ioannina. Graduated, from Ioannina Academy, with a degree in Pedagogy and, from the Philosophical School of the University of Ioannina, with a degree in classical literature [ancient Greek and Latin], in ancient history and in classical archaeology, I worked two years as assistant of the professor of archaeology S. Dakaris, taking part in the excavations of Dodona for two successive seasons. After that, I've been a teacher at high schools. I have published an essay on Plato's 'Apology of Socrates' and a plethora of articles, plus some poems on local press. I do bibliographic research on the matters I'm interested in, in English, German, French and Portuguese – fluently speaking the first three languages. I write poetry mainly in my native language, as well in English and French. I have a solid knowledge of Poetry since Homer to our age. I live with my wife in Nafplio [Peloponnesos-Greece] since 1987. We have a married daughter with two children and a married son with one child.

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  Negar Gorji, Iran

  — Born in 1995, I'm a twenty year old girl from Isfahan (in ancient time it was the capital of Persia and after a Persian proverb: "Esfahān nesf-e- jahān ast" - Isfahan is half of the world). I'am a student of English literature and love writing poetry and short novels –my favorite is to write about how I see the world, and I'll tell you that I’m really looking for Peace. A few years ago, two of my short stories were published in "Etela'ate Haftegi" magazine. I have posted some of my poems at PoemHunter, and one is published in the ebook ‘Poetry Against Terror’.

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  Birgitta Abimbola Heikka, Nigeria (living in USA)

  — I was born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1960 (the year of "equality" for many African countries). I now live in the state of Maryland, in the United States.

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  Nosheen Irfan, Pakistan

  — Born on March 13th 1978 in Lahore, where I currently live. I studied English Literature at the University of the Punjab. I teach English to secondary classes. I’m the daughter of a civil engineer who inculcated the love of books in me. Thanks to his taste in literature, I had access to some great literary classics at an early age. I became an avid reader and have gathered an impressive collection of books over the years. I turned to writing at a later age but have made it a point to write daily ever since. I draw inspiration from both classical and contemporary literature. Apart from that, Nature, people, life and social issues inspire me to take up the pen. I have my work published in “Eastlit” magazine and hope to find a wider readership in the future. I have had the good fortune to read great literary works by internationally renowned writers that have enlightened my mind and broadened my horizons. Literature has helped me grow as a person. I have become more open-minded through my exposure to great minds and have gained a broader perspective on life. I will love to take up writing as a profession if the opportunity arises. Yet, at the moment I’m content writing to express myself creatively. It gives me the greatest pleasure to become a voice that is heard somewhere.

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  Galina Italyanskaya, Russia

  — I was born in the USSR, in Ukhta, a small northern town surrounded by forests, and grew up there between civilization and wilderness. From the early childhood my curiosity about everything in the world has no limits. I love nature, science and art, music and literature, travels and discoveries, and of course I love my children. Thanks to my friend I began to write poetry in English about 7 years ago, and now I can share it with you.

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  Afrooz Jafarinoor, Iran

  — I was born in 1972, on a cold day of January, the same date as Federico Fellini. I'm from Hamedan, Iran, now
a resident of Tehran. I'm a teacher and writer. I have studied two majors: English and dramatic literatures. I write poetry, plays and scripts and I translate various texts. I know some languages except English, German, Kurdish and Turkish, but none as well as English, and my mother tongue is Persian, as I was born an Iranian. daughter of a brave war veteran and a talented gentlewoman, fortunately I've grown to be truly human.

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  Farzad Jahanbani, Iran

  — I was born in 1980, in I.R. IRAN, and live in Tehran, the capital. I've a master degree of EMBA. I have been writing poems since 1995 in my native language (Persian) and after that in English language. My poem, 'My Heart is in Torment', belongs in the compilation ‘Poetry Against Terror’. Visit my web-page at PoemHunter.com https://www.poemhunter.com/farzad-jahanbani/