Today we talk about Cloaked Mystery, a book by Asmaa Rateb published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author, Asmaa Rateb, to get to know her better, where she found the inspiration to write her collection of poems Cloaked Mystery, as well as how her passion for Writing started.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- Where did you find the inspiration to write this collection of poems?
It came from many sources, but if I can name the top two sources, I would start with the most immense one being “intense feelings” Both beautiful or horrible, the extremes of utter joy and happiness and the inexplicable desperation. somehow in that instance, I felt an urge to write about them, a necessity to catch them. a sense of invitation, an act of seizing the moment. Therefore, I had the pleasure of calling Poetry an act of seizing eternity because for me each emotion and experience felt as if it was eternal. only my mind was moving, but the experiences were still and did not move the least, and when I returned to them in a moment of tranquillity they showed me to be so. I felt them with the same immensity as I did the first time. Thanks to the power of words capturing and seducing that moment to be written. As for the other source, of course, Nature and the silence containing it deeply influenced my writing experience and I can probably admit that without those times of deep silence, I wouldn’t have connected with my source of writing.
- What is the message you want to send out with your writing?
I didn’t think of one when I first wrote. But then when I thought and reflected on what poetry meant for me, I realized that I needed such courage to be true with my feelings. I know how hard for us to face directly what we feel at the moment, especially in these times. It’s easy to sprinkle our emotions and spangle them with words, and thoughts to make them less intense. But within my poems, there lies a secret call to be brave to feel what one feels at the moment, whatever it is. Certainly, however superficial or small it is, it’s interconnected with something much deeper trying desperately to be known. calling our attention to it, pleading to be looked at. Because it’s the only one that knows that once we do look at them, work with them, and know what messages they have for us they will only lead to a place where it’s most true to us as humans and as souls. That’s why I believe that it’s crucial to have original art like poetry around us every day to remind us of such a fact because it is very easy to forget ourselves.
- How did your passion for writing start?
It started not a very long time ago, I was seventeen and at that time, it never occurred to my mind that I would ever write poetry. I hadn’t read anything before that, and I had no personal interest in it. But what happened was an unexpected happy moment for me. I really loved looking at the night sky when I was young, and as I was looking at the stars, I felt like talking to them, but I needed a special language to do so, to have their attention. And that’s where my first ever poem was written, it’s called Oh Stars. I didn’t include it in the book though, it’s a very childlike poem, but nevertheless my start. That’s how I started to feel that poetry has a certain power that isn’t included in the everyday language. Thenceforward I started reading poems, especially those from the Romantic era. Wordsworth, Lord Byron, William black, and their contemporaries. I took admiration for that century specifically. and my passion for writing grew ever so from there.
- How was your publishing experience?
I had the pleasure to work with the team, they showed a high level of professionalism and accountability. Especially since this is my first book and I live in a whole different country, I had my worries and concerns, but they were available at every step to answer and clear any questions I had. I really feel that they got my back and handled my book with such care. I felt supported throughout especially in the areas where I mostly needed guidance such as understanding the distribution process and organizing promotional activities. They showed a commitment to building a strong collaborative relationship with me as an author, and that led to clear and consistent communication, which only made the whole thing stress-free and smooth. Their precision made me really grateful. Overall, I really appreciate everyone involved in bringing my book to life. I’m really excited to see how my readers out there will connect with my work through this beautiful process.
- Are you planning to write more books? Can you tell us more about it?
I couldn’t hold my excitement to write another one, and I already have started, I’m really excited about it, because now what I see is an opportunity to a new corner of poetry for me. I’m really keen to write something that has more dimensions than before and see new ways of befriending words together, to explore the non-ending vastness of poetry. I love the fact that poetry is the same as painting, less tools of course, but the same process. One keeps trying and adding different colors and different ways of using the brush, to give unusual yet artistic satisfactory results. That’s how I feel about my new Writings. It feels like discovering a new aspect of myself. And I hope that my readers of this current book and the next one feel the freedom lying in each poem, as I try to create a space where there are no conditions to present oneself. We are in the realm of subconsciousness, so that’s my route now, and that’s what I hope to bring out to be written on the paper.
Europe Books thanks the author, Asmaa Rateb, once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside her on the editorial path that led to the publication of her book Cloaked Mystery. We wish her the best of luck for her future works.
To you, my readers, may this book make you reflect on being true to yourself and the feelings you have, even though it is difficult to admit them to yourself. Reading poetry helps us in this sense because it allows us to rediscover the essence of these dormant feelings that need to be rediscovered!
So, my dear reader, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your editor!