Page 28 - Wonderful Women of Virtue.cdr

Srairi, Sami Dhibi, Samir Farhani, Thouraya Ramadan, Chedli Karouechi etc…and she has the and a series of publications and recognitions followed…
intention to translate more poems then collect all the translated poems and publish them in an
anthology in the future.
Ÿ She started writing in the Tunisian dialect 2 years ago and she had some of her poems published in
the Tunisian « El Anwar Journal » and had two articles written about her poems « Ithrab al hob »
and « Ena Andi Kabous » by the Jordanian journalist Hechem Khalil Abd el Ghani and were
published in « Almanar Journal », 2019.
Ÿ She has recently written a play in the Tunisian dialect under the encouragement and direction of
the Tunisian playwright and actor Nizar Kshaw, who has the intention to perform it on the stage.
Ÿ She is also fond of making videos. So she made around 40 videos illustrating her poems in different
languages: Tunisian, English and Spanish and they are published on her youtube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChMcYZtsitYOCixxYM5Kz5g
Ÿ Apart from poetry, she has other passions like sport, decoration and gardening. She had a long
career as an international volleyball player with the Tunisian national team and she took part in
many international events mainly the Volley Ball World Cup in Japan 1999. Now she is
practicing other sports like biking, running and Aqua-Walking and she is taking part in the events
of half-marathons organized locally.
Inspirational works:
Like other writers, Olfa has published a play entitled Sublime Revenge and two collections of poetry entitled (Un)jailed and Beyond the (sur)face. But her
creative and most inspirational work is her unprecedented experience with the Tunisian painter Nebiha Felah who identified with many of her 'mysterious'
poems then decided to exchange the pen and paper with the brush and palette. So she chose 25 of her poems and translated them into paintings which were
displayed in an art exhibition entitled « The Shadow of a Dream » (May, 2017). The video summarizing this unprecedented collaboration is available on Olfa's
youtube channel. The selected poems together with their illustrations was published in a booklet entitled « Female Aches », which is available on Amazon
together with the other books.
Failures and successes:
Olfa has failed in her conjugal life for multiple reasons both normal and paranormal and she ended up by divorcing after long years of struggle and hesitation. Yet
those evil human hands who did their best to destroy her life and dim her light (out of envy) were the ones behind her decision to take her pen and start writing.
For it was in a period of depression that Olfa found writing as a therapy to exercise all the deceptions and misfortunes she had been through. Her intention then
was just for healing reasons. Yet, when she had one of her poems published in an American anthology « The Poets' Sanctuary » in just one year after she started
writing (2008), she started believing in the power of her pen to touch the readers' hearts and minds. Hence, the door of publication was opened for her by then
26 | Dr. K.C. Sethi & Sunita Sethi
How to eradicate inhumanity in this world?
I think that the role of poets is crucial in fighting against violence and wars and eradicating inhumanity altogether. As a poetess myself who is driven to write
because of the black hearts and evil people around me, I took it as an oath to denounce all evil acts and behaviors without fear and to be committed in my writing.
My mission and cause as a poetess is to voice the buried emotions and phobias of the oppressed and downtrodden, as well as to unmask and expose hidden truths
socially considered taboo or shameful. In this respect, I admit that I am a female rebel at heart who is waging war against injustice, marginalization, intimidation,
objectification, subjugation and violence against the «inferior » and powerless groups.
Sense of depersonalization?
Being a wise and modest person, I think that one should not be arrogant or claim to be the best in whatsoever. I believe that leaving the room for others to decide
and judge according to certain criteria is the wisest way to assure transparency and merit.
Talents used to spread love and peace ?
I think that being committed in one's writing and trying to write about topics that touch and address the majority of readers all over the world is already one
way to spread love and peace. Another way is to be an inspiring modal to others. In my case as a poetess and as an athlete, I am exposing and sharing my physical
activities and athletic achievements so as to inspire others and encourage them to practice sport. For sports have many beneficial effects on both the body and the
mind as the saying goes « Healthy mind is in a healthy body ». For practising sport helps one release his stress, tension, anger, negative energy etc… and gives a
feeling of inner peace that helps one overcome the pressure of our everyday life that may lead to disputes and violence.
Can you make people happy?
I think that some people inspire love and happiness around them while some others don't. For charisma is something given by the Divine and it's a reflection of
one's soul. Those who are pure from the inside are likely to emit a positive energy from their body that may attract others and
make them eager to connect with them and enjoy their company. As far as I am concerned and according to my experience, I
think that I have this positive energy…
View in building a perfect human being in you ?
I am convinced that perfection is a divine trait. But as human beings, we all have some good and some evil sides. What makes
the difference between us is each one's inner strength and determination to silence the evil side and champion the good side.
As a mystic and a strong believer in God, my spiritual rituals are the ones that are making me stronger and helping me to
champion the good over the evil and the soul over the body. This Faith is indeed the one that made me remain calm,
humble and contented with what God ordained for me despite all the hurricanes I experienced in my life. In this context, I
may evoke my very first book/ play « Sublime Revenge », which depicts this very fight between the good and evil voices
haunting (or calling) us as human beings. This book is available on amazon together with the other collections of poetry.
25 Wonderful Women of Virtue | 27