Youth poet laureate Marjan Naderi hadn’t given much thought to poetry until middle school. It was at this critical juncture in her life that a teacher saw something in the precocious student, and encouraged a young Marjan to explore the arts — particularly, spoken word poetry. Her teacher’s inclination turned out to be correct, as Marjan soon developed a voracious appetite for the craft and began writing poems of her own.
Notably, it was the work of spoken word artist Mohamed Tall that spoke to Marjan; she was intrigued by the way Tall could seemingly distill an entire life into only a few minutes. And on another level, Mohamed’s work spoke of life as a Muslim living in America — a theme which resonated deeply with Marjan.
In a remarkably short span of time, Marjan's talent would take her from penning her first poem to performing in front of thousands on some of the world’s largest stages. She would go on to become the Washington D.C. Youth Poet Laureate, Poetry Slam Champion multiple times over, and earn a wealth of other awards for her outstanding poetic achievements.
But for Marjan, the work was never about the accolades nor the attention; from the beginning, poetry was a tool which facilitated her own self-discovery, self-expression, and healing. She was able to channel her life’s trauma into her poetry, and in her performances, she magnifies the weight of her words through movement and body language.
Marjan Naderi believes that everyone is an artist; some are just searching for the medium through which to best express themselves. For Marjan, spoken word poetry’s confluence of language, storytelling, and theatrical performance is the art form through which she can understand, explain, and empower — herself and others — even when words alone fail.
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For full show notes
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Connect with Marjan Naderi
Website: https://www.marjaanxpoetry.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marjaanxpoetry/?hl=hu
Twitter: https://twitter.com/marjanxpoetry
Resources
Purchase Marjan Naderi's book of poetry: Bloodline
https://www.marjaanxpoetry.com/buy-bloodline
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Credits
Produced by: Joseph Gangemi
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-gangemi-audio/
Digital Marketing & Media by: Katherine An
https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-a-91081b56/
Theme music by: Qais Essar
www.therabab.com
Artwork by: Masheed Ahadi
https://www.LinkedIn.com/in/masheed
Episode Music Credits
“Slumber” bu VisMajor
”Quieting The Mind” by Philip Daniel Zach
”For Mother” by Philip Daniel Zach (feat. Alistair Sung)
”Oh, Endless Day” by Philip Daniel Zach