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Najwa Zebian

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Najwa Zebian
Born (1990-04-27) 27 April 1990 (age 34)
Lebanon
Citizenship
  • Canadian
  • Lebanese
Occupation(s)Activist, author, speaker, and educator
Notable workMind Platter (2016)
The Nectar of Pain (2016)
Sparks of Phoenix (2019)
Websitewww.najwazebian.com

Najwa Zebian (born 27 April 1990) is a Lebanese–Canadian activist, author, poet, educator, and speaker based in London, Ontario.[1] Zebian gained widespread attention on Instagram through sharing her instapoetry[2] and popularity during the #MeToo movement[3] via her TEDx talks[4] and interviews on Canadian news outlets such as CBC,[5] and Entertainment Tonight,[6] among others.[7][8]

Early life and education

Zebian was born in Lebanon and moved to Canada at the age of sixteen during the 2006 Lebanon War, during which her family settled in Ontario, Canada.[9][10]

Zebian attended the University of Western Ontario where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2010 and a Master of Education in Curriculum Studies in 2013. She then continued her studies and completed a Doctorate in Educational Leadership in 2022.[11]

Career

#MeToo Movement Protest

Zebian self-published her first book, Mind Platter, in January 2016.[12] She described it as a, "Compilation of reflections on life as seen through the eyes of an educator, student, and human who experienced her early days in silence."[13] In its first month, Mind Platter brought in $2,300, which Zebian donated to the Syrian Refugee Fund in London. She also earmarked a percentage of her profits to finance summer activities for city high school students.[14] A revised and expanded version of Mind Platter was published in March 2018 by Andrews McMeel Publishing.[15] Zebian’s work slowly gained public recognition on social media via mentions by celebrities such as Mathieu Kassovitz, Lisa Rinna, LeAnn Rimes, and Hilary Swank.[3][2]

Her second book, The Nectar of Pain,[16] comprises poetry and prose; it was self-published in October 2016.[17] Zebian writes about the feelings elicited by a painful breakup.[18] A revised and expanded edition was released in March 2018 by Andrews McMeel Publishing.[15]

In 2017, Zebian lent her voice to the #MeToo movement when she opened up about being a victim of sexual harassment by an authority figure with whom she worked as a teacher.[19][20] She writes of her abuse: "I was blamed for it. I was told not to talk about it. I was told that it wasn’t that bad. I was told to get over it." An excerpt from her comments was referenced by the New York Times[21][22] and one of her poems was featured in news stories about the #MeToo movement which ran in The Huffington Post, BBC News, CBS News, and Glamour.[3]

In March 2019, Zebian's third book, Sparks of Phoenix,[23] was published by Andrews McMeel Publishing. In this collection, her subject matter is her own healing from abuse; and her progress towards resilience and strength.[24][18][25]

Published works

See also

References

  1. ^ Hawksley, Rupert (1 November 2018). "Najwa Zebian: writing was genuinely my only way of dealing with the world". The National. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Is Najwa Zebian poised to be the next Rupi Kaur?". Quill and Quire. 12 February 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Najwa Zebian Tackles Racism, Isolation, Sexual Harassment Through Poetry". HuffPost Canada. 28 October 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Najwa Zebian". Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  5. ^ "How Najwa Zebian uses poetry to connect with herself, her students and nearly one million Instagram followers | CBC Radio".
  6. ^ "ET Canada Connects: Najwa Zebian". Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  7. ^ "London Writer Joins #MeToo Campaign". London. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Ontario High School Teacher Has Celebs Hanging Onto Her Every Word". HuffPost Canada. 28 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  9. ^ Dundas, Deborah (18 April 2019). "Najwa Zebian on how poetry helps her define home". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  10. ^ "London Writer Joins #MeToo Campaign". London. 12 January 2018. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  11. ^ Graham, Andrew (14 February 2024). "Dr. Najwa Zebian on the transformative power of authenticity". Faculty of Education. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  12. ^ Zebian, Najwa (27 March 2018). Mind Platter. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4494-9551-0.
  13. ^ "Mind Platter".
  14. ^ Beitollahi, Yasamin (12 May 2016). "Millennials Paving The Way: Najwa Zebian, Author of "Mind Platter"". HuffPost. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  15. ^ a b "Is Najwa Zebian poised to be the next Rupi Kaur?". Quill and Quire. 12 February 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  16. ^ Zebian, Najwa (2 October 2018). The Nectar of Pain. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4494-9988-4.
  17. ^ "The Nectar of Pain".
  18. ^ a b "Najwa Zebian: Healing through the power of words". The Gazette • Western University's Student Newspaper. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  19. ^ "Facebook admits it made a mistake pulling post that sparked police investigation". CBC.
  20. ^ "London principal takes legal action against poet Najwa Zebian". CBC.
  21. ^ "Najwa Zebian: The Lebanese poet speaking up about the #MeToo movement". The National. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  22. ^ Codrea-Rado, Anna (16 October 2017). "#MeToo Floods Social Media With Stories of Harassment and Assault". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  23. ^ Zebian, Najwa (5 March 2019). Sparks of Phoenix. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5248-5272-6.
  24. ^ "#MeToo: How Lebanon-born poet Najwa Zebian stood up to her harasser". Emirates Woman. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  25. ^ "Poet Najwa Zebian rises again with Sparks of Phoenix". Quill and Quire. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
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