Fatema Azam (She/her)

Bio

Fatema Azam is a 22 year old Desi-Muslim-American poet, activist, and editor at Malposition Magazine. She graduated from San Francisco State University in May 2021 with a degree in Creative Writing and she double minored in Marketing and Middle East & Islamic Studies. She is a firm believer in the power that literature and arts have in connecting us all together. In her free time, you can find her reading until the sun comes up, binge watching tv until she can’t keep her eyes open anymore, or (lovingly) annoying her nieces.

Solidarity Arts Fellowship reflection

Through SAF, I learned the true power of using art to build to build community. My mind always goes back to the workshops we spent writing poetry together. We synced our words together, shared our experiences in our own voices, and created movements that we used in solidarity with one another. I will never forget that intimacy and am still so grateful for the group I got to work with. Before SAF, I didn’t know how deeply intertwined Japanese Americans and Muslim Americans are. We are connected through our shared experiences and we can use this connection to uplift other marginalized communities through our words and our art. SAF helped create a foundation for me to step on to, it was the safe space of love that I was able to return to twice a month, and I know the lessons I learned here will be ones I carry with me forever. These bonds are unbreakable and I am grateful to have gotten to know all of you. <3

Object of resilience

My object of resilience is a magnet that says “Fear is only your enemy if you allow it to be.” It is a quote from the book series “An Ember in the Ashes” by Sabaa Tahir and it is the reminder I need to move forward each day. I’m scared of a lot of things — the dark, spiders, white supremacy, sharks, Islamophobia, butterflies, small spaces— but I don’t want these fears to have a hold on me and I am actively working towards breaking myself free from them. Furthermore, Sabaa Tahir herself is a Desi-Muslim who shows her own resilience through writing in a white-male dominated industry. She is an inspiration to me and my own journey towards becoming a published author and I often find myself looking to her words and experiences for guidance.