The following, an excerpt from “Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath:
The sour breath
Will vanish in a day.
Soon, soon the flesh
The grave cave ate will be
At home on me
And I a smiling woman.
After Nadia told me this was her favorite poem, I sat for a long time and wondered why. What did Nadia see in this poem that I was seemingly missing? What magic went undetected, and how did it encourage Nadia to fashion whole landscapes out of swirling words and twisting rhymes?
Nadia started her journey as a writer when she was in third grade. Until that point, writing hobby, but seeing her father and teacher moved by her work made her realize she had a striking talent. “There is a certain formula to regular conversation that with writing and poetry especially, you can break barriers to express yourself,” she comments. Now as a poet, Nadia has an incredibly unique style. She loves “adding twists and leaving [poems] off on a different note from the tone at the beginning.”
She never intended to publish her poetry collection “Seven Billion and Two” when she began working on what would eventually become her first book. Towards the end of junior year, Nadia had over 30 poems compiled when she realized there was a story waiting to be shared with the world. Two months of rigorous work later, she had written over 60 poems bubbling with melancholia and loss wrapped in an upbeat theme of love.
“She has shown me her poems frequently and I have seen her style change over the years which is a good sign of growth and exploration,” says Mr. Ortega, “There are two schools of thought when it comes to what makes someone a good writer, and that is the nature vs nurture argument. I don’t know whether Nadia has a natural gift, but I do know she has taken particular experiences in her life and turned them into something beautiful.”
Ms. Peñaloza-Bluvstein shares similar sentiments with Mr. Ortega. “The way Nadia puts words together is something I have not seen before. Her voice isn’t just unique, it’s fresh and emotive,” she states. She also expresses her gratitude for Nadia as a human being, adding “she isn’t afraid to fight for what she believes in… she understands the world, which I definitely didn’t at her age, and I really appreciate that.”
Aayushi Shah, Nadia’s friend and partner, further expands on who Nadia is outside of her poetry. “Nadia is kind, persevering, and empathetic. Although she went through personal struggles, she makes the best out of her situation,” she says, “she’s always there to help anyone who needs it.”
Despite the multitude of poems and essays she has written, Nadia finds her greatest accomplishment in a far more personal sphere. “I’ve grown a lot as a person. I feel a lot better being myself and I wouldn’t be able to say that years ago. I think that’s my biggest achievement,” she says.
Lady Lazarus is widely regarded as a poem about the speaker discovering her true self through her experiences. She is reborn, stronger, wiser, and happier.
Nadia Memari’s book “Seven Billion and Two” is available on Amazon under her pen name Erin Rose.