Salaam friends,

For the past few months, I have been focused on building the foundation and schedule for Hazawi Podcast, and I learned two things so far:

It’s easy to over-obsess with the little things

Starting a new project is hard, especially one that’s shared with the world. I’m learning multiple things all at once: how to operate a DSLR camera, edit videos, write social media copies, and create thumbnails. I overthink everything, from preparation for an episode, to positioning the overhead light in my living before an interview, to the color of the font on the cover art. I'm trying to think less, and do more until I figure out a balanced process. Because perfection is the enemy.

Reading fiction is not mere entertainment, is a source of inspiration

I have neglected reading fiction, which has left me stuck in a vicious productivity loop. I’m constantly making to-do lists, plans, schedules, and building systems around projects I do. And I realized that I don't read novels and short stories because I want to be a better fiction writer, or because it’s my escape mechanism, but I read fiction because a good novel makes me think about my life through other people’s eyes. Fiction is messy, and so is life.

One of the most recent novels I read was Gravel Heart By the Winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature Abdulrazak Gurnah — I can’t recommend it enough. The novel emphasized on the relationship between the main character and his parents, which in turn made me consider my own relationship with my own as they grow old. Toward the end of the book, an incident made me think of the Arabic word hazawi, which is where I got the name of my podcast.

Here is a picture of me using a DSLR camera for the first time. It turned off mid-way through the conversation with my guest, which was embarrassing, but we carried on.

📖 Books I’m reading?

I just picked up from where I left off on The Penguin Book of Migration Literature. It’s a collection of short stories and novel excerpts on departures, arrivals, and returns.

🎧 What am I listening to?

I’m listening to the Arabic podcast Thmanyah, the episode with the critic and relationship expert Yasser Al-Hazimi. He’s well known in the middle east, and is famous for his intersectional analysis of living in the modern world through the lens of religion, eastern and western philosophy, and social media.

For my English speaking friends, sorry I couldn’t find a subtitled version of the interview.

🔖 Quote I’m pondering

“The world is crazy. Creative work is hard. Life is short and art is long.”

— Austin Kleon

Please give me feedback on Instagram. What do you want more or less of? Or other suggestions? Just me a message @mohamedthewriter

Thank you for reading, and keep on creating!

Mohamed