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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 attention on Instagram through sharing her Insta-poetry[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

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

She 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

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#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] combined poetry and prose; it was self-published in October 2016.[17] Zebian wrote 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 wrote 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. This collection focused on her healing from abuse and her progress towards resilience and strength.[24][18][25]

Published works

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See also

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References

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  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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