The Pakistani Spectator

Playwright, poet, artist, activist and blog owner.

Would you please tell us something about you and your site?
I began my blog A Poetic Justice (Don’t burn the flag. Wash it!) in protest of the occupation of Iraq. I was disturbed, or should I say, my muse was disturbed, by what, for lack of a better term, amounted to a crime against humanity. Bush and his administration, in my opinion, were implementing a very reckless and dangerous neoconservative agenda in Iraq in hopes of employing it throughout the Middle East. I felt then, as I do now, that the actions of the United States were not in the best interests of the Middle East, Iraq in particular, and of the region as a whole and the end result would be a much more volatile planet.

During the occupation of Iraq I also began to protest other injustices throughout the globe including those within the United States. Before I began writing my blog, I was, to be quite honest, somewhat ignorant of the political landscape of my own country and that of the world, but as my muse pushed me deeper into the morass that is politics I began to find my voice and haven’t looked back since.

Do you feel that you continue to grow in your writing the longer you write? Why is that important to you?
I do. I would imagine and hope that all writers grow as they write; otherwise it would be a rather fruitless exercise. It’s important to me to continue to grow as a writer while I vent, release the anger and frustration from the things I alone cannot control. I would be a miserable person if I did not utilize my voice for good, and it would be all the more abhorrent if, as a United States citizen with the freedom to speak my mind, I did not.

I’m wondering what some of your memorable experiences are with blogging?
I would say that it’s “the people” I have been so fortunate to have met that have and continue to be my most unforgettable experience(s) with blogging. I have befriended people from across the globe, from all walks of life. If it were not for blogging I would never have met and collaborated with my dear friend and incredible political artist, caricaturist and photographer, Ben Heine from Brussels, Belgium. I would not have met my friend and extraordinary writer Case Wagenvoord and his alter ego Belacqua Jones of Open Letters to George W. Bush. I would not have had the opportunity to read the incredible real accounts of life in Baghdad (Burning) from the blogger River bend, nor would I have been introduced to the gut wrenching stories featured on AfricanLoft, or the rawness of the Canadian Dark Daughta, or the profundity of Queen Rania of Amman Jordan.

What do you do in order to keep up your communication with other bloggers?
I do my best to visit those I list on my sidebar. I sometimes write them an email. I also participate in group blogs such as The Peace Tree, Poets4Peace, The Existentialist Cowboy, Out of Iraq Bloggers Caucus, Poets for Human Rights and Stop the Second Holocaust. I don’t visit them enough, but I’m sure they understand that if I could I would read their blog entries every day.

What do you think is the most exciting or most innovative use of technology in politics right now?
The internet… hands down. Communication is the key. Even with iphones and blackberries, and the like, nothing compares to the breadth of the available internet resources at our fingertips today if we but type in the words and search. It is my hope that the entire world will eventually have (free) access to the internet and that we collectively use it to usher in a much needed peace.

Do you think that these new technologies are effective in making people more responsive?
They certainly can be if they (we) choose to make ourselves receptive to such gifts. Anything can be abused, but it can also be embraced and used for the good, it is up to us to make sure that these opportunities are not squandered.

What do you think sets your site apart from others?
Short answer- Politically charged poetry (and other “politically” aligned creations).

Long answer- One of the reasons A Poetic Justice has so many sister sites is because I give each medium its own page. The main site has poetry as its emphasis, but when I create, say a video or a photomontage or write an anti-war play or a Head-Line poem, the pieces are initially posted on the main page (APJ) and then, at some point, published on their respective blog. This could possibly be one of the reasons my muse is still able to function without throttling me.

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success in life, what would it be?
Oh my. Success is a very elusive word. I’ll have to say that my success has been the great fortune I’ve had to still be breathing.

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?
Happiest… the day my muse said, “Yes.”

My gloomiest moment… that must have been the night I was thrown through the back windshield of a car and subsequently fell into a coma. (I suppose, since my happiest moment came about with the word “yes”, then my second happiest moment must surely have been waking up.)

If you could pick a travel destination, anywhere in the world, with no worries about how it’s paid for - what would your top 3 choices be?
If I didn’t have to worry about how it’s paid for then I’d certainly choose my destinations wisely. I would travel to- the Eurasian continent and make my way to Yugoslavia, Italy, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Turkey and Palestine… then I’d go to the continent of Africa and travel to Sudan, Darfur and Kenya and then on to the continent of South America and make my way to Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela….

What is your favorite book and why?
Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet. It is the one book that has brought me the most joy and it is the only book that has given and continues to give me with the tools to remember who I am.

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?
When I see someone, coming or going, I first observe their gate; the step of a man reveals where they’ve been or where they’re headed. If they’re not moving, then it is their eyes that I first try to perceive.

Is there anyone from your past that once told you that you couldn’t write?
No. I believe that everyone has it within them to write. Sure, plenty have instructed me on the “how” of writing or told me that my poetry or plays aren’t written “correctly”, but no one has ever (or could ever) tell me that I can’t.

How bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?

Let people advertise on your blog. Sell your books, music, artwork, etc. on your blog. Other than that I’d say go Dot com and do the aforementioned… (Oh. And post frequently and relevantly.)

Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?
No.

What role can bloggers of the world play to make this world friendlier and less hostile?
Blog for peace, blog their truth, become an activist, reach out, donate to charities or groups that help those in need, advertise peace on their blogs, choose to post the things that call out to them. Communicate outside of their particular region or country. Open the mind and simply be. As it reads on my activist blog, Actionable Resistance, “Define what you’re for… not what you’re against.”

Who are your top five favorite bloggers?
Case Wagenvoord, Ben Heine, Zeyad of Healing Iraq, Iraq Veterans Against War, and Naj of Neo-Resistance.

Is there one observation or column or post that has gotten the most powerful reaction from people?
Thrusting America’s Love Outward (and Turn Backwards).

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?
As Kahlil would say, “I love you

when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit.”

Have you ever become stunned by the uniqueness of any blogger?
Yes. Too many have affected me in this way for me to list.

What is the most striking difference between a developed country and a developing country?
To me it’s the people that reside within their borders. Usually the less developed countries, from what I am able to discern, seem to have kinder, humbler, talented and more vigilant peoples; maybe not the leaders, but within the citizenry to be certain.

What is the future of blogging?
Tomorrow.

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?
Personal… improved… Professional… by proxy, enhanced.

What are your future plans?
To continue to breathe and offer anyone willing the only thing I’m able- my words.

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?
Yes. Kahlil’s words-

“March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move toward perfection. March on, and fear not the thorns, or the sharp stones on life’s path.”

And my words-

“Our hands, feet, arms and legs
Are only told to move in rage
when the heart’s gone missing.”

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