16-year-old Ludella Awad is bringing light to the tragedies in Syria through her second poetry collection.
The collection, "Sad Piano Music in Syria," centers on the escalating crisis, which has led to nearly five million refugees leaving the country.
It is a combination of 45 poems and four interviews Awad conducted with her Syrian family members. Her parents have been in the U.S. for 20 years, but her aunt and uncle immigrated more recently, Awad said.
“I interviewed my mom, my auntie who came from Syria, specifically them because they just recently came. I mean, they’ve lived it every day," she said. "I have family over there who have lived in war and whose houses are gone and who have just lived in the misery right now."
Awad’s parents are supportive of her work.
“We are proud of her. She is very talented. She has a big heart," said Ludella’s mother, Rose. Family is a central theme to Awad’s poetic work.
“When I sit down to myself and I write, I feel the whole emotions,” Awad said. “I have so many thoughts when I write, like a million thoughts, and when I’m writing I just think about people, I think about family.”
The collection’s goal is to bring attention to the tragedies in Syria, she said, and to portray how different everyday life is for families there.
“What I’m hoping to get out of my audience is making them feel what’s going on right now. Making them feel compassion. Making them feel like, let’s feel for those people. We’re sitting here at a dinner table, we’re eating here, we’re eating as a family, but other people in the world, they don’t have those families,” Awad said. “They’re being killed. They don’t have that type of whole family.”
Awad said she thinks people in the U.S. could do more to help the children in Syria.
“I’m in school here and over there they don’t have school. They’re trying to get their education and some are sitting on the floors in destroyed buildings,” Awad said.
"Sad Piano Music in Syria" has also received praise from local author Rudolfo Anaya. Awad published her first poetry collection, "Behind the Covers," a year ago, but has been writing creatively since she was seven.
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“Poetry has a special meaning to me. It touches people’s hearts. It touches my heart when I write too at the same time,” Awad said.
Both collections were published through the company Create Space, which describes itself as an Amazon company that allows authors to independently publish online and in print.
Awad’s works are currently available through Amazon, Kindle, Hastings and Bookworks, while her second collection is available as an audio book on Audible.
The collection is also available is Spanish, due to Awad's belief in the power of language learning. She is fluent in Arabic and has also studied Turkish for two years.
She is currently working on publishing her third book, an animated children’s story focused on bullying, Awad said.
“I really would like to bring attention more on bullying because I think it’s really important, like we need to help those kids. I looked up the percentage and did a little research and there’s a lot of people who commit suicide from bullying,” she said.
Along with writing poetry and children’s stories, Awad also creates YouTube videos.
“I do videos about Syria, about bullying, because I’ve been bullied before and I want to talk to children and kids about bullying, that it’s really wrong to do,” she said.
A senior at Albuquerque School of Excellence, she intends to study business and journalism at UNM upon graduation. Awad said her interest in journalism comes from a desire to find the truth and to learn about people.
“I think that we need to shine a light on the community," she said. "We need to shine a light in general in the world because I think of what’s going on, it’s bad."
She plans to continue writing poetry, as well as everything from news articles to novels.
“I’m planning to just continue with my journey and as I grow up I want to keep writing and keep going, cause since I have the talent I just want to keep going and not give up on myself," she said. "Just keep doing what I’m doing. I’m going to try to get people’s attention and awareness."
