Though she was homeschooled, Maryam Jameela Haniff was always on never-ending adventures through her reading. She devoured classics like Black Beauty and Treasure Island then later Shakespeare and the collections of celebrated poets like Christina Rossetti and Emily Dickinson. At eight, she penned her first poem and 150 poems later has published her first book Silver Linings.
That first poem, Maryam revealed, was written about the war in Iraq and she was assisted by her parents, who are the foundation of who she is today. Maryam shared that what impacted her life the most was memorizing the Holy Quran when she was a child. Learning the Quran widened her knowledge and imagination as an individual. She credits her poetic talent to Allah.
“I like being a poet because it helps me to express my deepest thoughts and feelings in a beautiful way. Poets often convey what cannot be said in many situations of daily life. Poets are deep people, [we] hurt easily and [our] emotions are ten times stronger than a regular person. This is why when [a poem] is read by the poet herself, [one] can feel the [piece]… coming [to life]. I’m not sure when I became a poet, I’ve always written poetry to express myself from a very young age,” she shared.