Firstly, Laila Wah is known as a poet her entire life. She began earnestly writing poetry as a youth and continues unto this day. She writes poetry in English, French, and Spanish. In addition to writing Haiku poetry in English with Chinese calligraphy. Practically all her poetry is dated so chronology is easily revealed.
I write poetry because I must. I create poetry with the same urgency that I breathe – poetry is my lifeline. It’s a life force pulsating within me, and it springs up like gentle rain or a tsunami.
TO THE POET IN MYSELF ON NEW YEAR’S EVE
It is a very long journey.
And I who remain silent
carry Poem deep within me,
whose birth I seek.
And long is the journey;
even I who am silent
know it.
Yet wishing to witness its birth,
this silence must come
that we, Poem and I,
might grow
to be . . .
1st January 1973
Her most recently completed book is Tales from the Caravanserai, a collection of fantasia short stories from ancient times, one the length of a novella, The Woodcutter’s Daughter. The book is targeted at young people and adults. All the stories take place in either the Far East or the Middle East, and each tale holds a moral and is based upon both factual and fictional historic events and is inspired by the author’s past lives.
Her latest poetry books written in 2019 – 2020 are Los Dolores, a bilingual Spanish-English work, Cantos, another bilingual Spanish-English creation, and selected Les Poemes Francais. Both Spanish works are inspired by the social and political conditions of world peoples, particularly refugees fleeing violence and poverty in Mexico, South American, and Middle Eastern countries. In the year 2019, she wrote a volume entitled A Poem a Day, which is literally one poem, or more, written per day for the entire year which far surpasses an earlier volume entitled A Month of Poems, written in 1973.
The poet is a spokesperson for the world. We see things of beauty and things of hardness and must relate what we see. Writing poetry is a serious business. When done well, it is enduring. All we need do is to read the inspiring thoughts of wisdom from some of the greats: Jalal ad-Din Rumi, Rabindranath Tagore, William Blake, William Shakespeare, Pablo Neruda, Thich Nat Hanh, Tu Fu, Gabriela Mistral, and Antjie Krög, to name a few.
From 2018 to 2019 she wrote Waiting for Baby and Baby is Here, both dedicated to the family’s newest member, Gideon, who is a wondrous spirit. Earlier notable works written during her life in New York City are The Beggar Queen, a socio-political commentary of the streets of New York City; The Indian Who My Father Speaks; I Hear You Coming Through the Raiments of Unknowing, and Waiting for Cybele, plus a plethora of other poems. During The New York period, she wrote many Haiku poems with Chinese calligraphy. It was also in New York City that she began creating collage pieces, oils, and watercolors. Her artist’s life parallels her poetic life, See her website art.lailawah.com showing collage pieces created within the last few years These works are front pieces for each story in Tales from the Caravanserai.
Literally, thousands of Laila’s poems exist, most in volumes. Wah is a prophetic writer. The general categories involve 1) social-political issues as in Los Dolores: 2) love poetry, such as The Runes of Love; 3) poems to the Divine, prayers, and invocation for the awakening of our spiritual nature as in We Are Here, Circling Bewildered Like Atoms; 4) personal poems to family and friends, such as Anthology of a Child; 5) poems to Mother Nature such as Sap Green, Poems of Spring; 6) humourous poems such as The House is Falling and 7) poems for children, such as Little Bird.
A poem is completed when the poet chooses not to breathe anymore over, in, and between its cellular configurations, the poem-being, the poet’s life.
In 2018 she wrote a self-help book entitled Chakras, Auras, and Energy: Balancing and Cleansing Our Chakras. It is a companion book to workshops she conducted on Chakra balancing. Also in 2018, she began a series of children’s books based on a fictional character named Coco, a little girl who lives by the sea in the wilds of a Nordic country. The first in the Coco series is entitled The Girl, the Tent, and the Genie. Following titles are Coco and the Magical Cupcakes, Coco and the Yogini, Coco Learns to Meditate, Coco Learns the Chakra Sounds, and there are more Coco stories in the works. Each story ends with a healthy recipe.
Wah was raised in a culturally minded family. Evenings after dinner, her family usually spent in sharing musical renditions with one another. everyone contributed to the after-dinner soirée be it on the piano, flute, violin, guitar, or singing solo or duet. Her parents were professional musicians; her father a European classical and jazz violinist, her mother a pianist and singer. Music was core to their home life. Laila continued studying music, piano, flute, and singing from childhood throughout her adult years in New York City and then In Philadelphia, PA. After living in New York City for ten years, her family moved to Philadelphia. then migrated to Bucks County, PA. There she participated in choral arts societies. For years she sang with The Friends Community Choral Society, Voices (of Princeton, NJ), Alliance Française choral Group, and The Bucks County Singers, and briefly partook of private vocal jazz training.
Wah”s poetry is musical, it flows and renders itself well to being read or sung out loud. As part of her twin creation of writing and music, she has also written a number of songs to be set to music.
For me, poetry is best spoken aloud to hear the musicality of the words, their phraseology, and to gauge if it works well together I prefer writing in Spanish or French because the language is musically rich.
Daily musical creations and love of books were instilled in her at infancy and is a natural passion for her.
Reading, learning and studying is core to her existence. By age twelve she created poetry tomes that she self-bound and gave as gifts to her mother who shared and cultivated her eclectic literary interests.
Publically she presented her work at the 92Y in NYC, a world-class cultural and community center, participated in poetry groups in Bucks County, PA – Beaver Pond Poetry Forum River Poets; read at events for NOVA, Bucks County Community College Poetry Forums, and at the Buckingham Friends Peace Center. She performed her poetry with noted tabla drum musician, Lenny Seidman, at venues at the Art Alliance of Philadelphia, the Beaver Pond Poetry Forum, and on the Inner Voyage, a Caribbean cruise offering a plate of new age speakers where she met among them, Damion Brinkley, author of the controversial book Saved By The Light.
Performing with Lenny was definitely a theatre piece. We would rehearse the poems with his tabla accompaniment and the tapestry of classical Indian rhythms complimented the recitation. In ancient times poetry was an oral tradition. It carries over today. When you discover someone who reads beautifully it is a joy to listen to. Otherwise, it can be rather painful.
A chapbook entitled Between Two Worlds was published for the performance at the Art Alliance in Philadelphia with the tabla player, Lenny Seidman. Other publications include her works found on her Facebook Page entitled The Poetry of Laila Wah; individual poems were published in the Bucks County Herald, The River, Bucks County Writer, with inclusion in an Anthology thru NOVA on domestic violence, and individual poems published in the book, Bucks County Landscapes, Summer Nights, Alliance Française, the Friends, and at a Romare Bearden exhibition in the 60s. Some of the 30 plus poetry groups she’s affiliated with are: Hafez Poetry, Beautiful Poems for Beautiful Minds, World Poetry, and Poetry. The year 2021 brings new opportunities for publication and promotions with her literary agent.
In 2020 she wrote Chakras. Auras and Energy: Balancing and Cleansing Our Chakras. In 2021 to date she’s completed Tales of the Caravanserai composed of Arabian Nights tales from both the Near and Far East, based upon historical and fictional events which are also drawn from her personal past life experiences; and Los Dolores), a bilingual Spanish- English poetry book on socio-political situations.
Works in progress are The Five Rings of Love: Choosing A Love Match; The Silent Violence, a novel; Beggar Queen, poetry about NYC during the 60s; Ma Muse, a collection of bilingual French- English poems, Feng Shui for the New Millennium, and The Acupuncture Patient Handbook.
It is my belief that it is far more important to get works written and completed. Finding outlets for publications easily follow, but because life is so short, one best get one’s Muse out before it all ends. The closer to the end of life one approaches, the more urgent the task becomes especially if you have a great deal you want to share.
Besides being a poet and writer Laila Wah is a Doctor of Wellness and Traditional Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine. Her rostrum of accomplishments is extensive in the field. She created the first school for training and certification of Shiatsu practitioners and Asian Herbal Medicine in Philadelphia – The Gautama Institute in which notables in the field taught master classes: Ted Kaptchuk, OMD of Harvard University, East Asian Medical Studies, and author of The Web That Has No Weaver; Dr. Leon Hammer MD, Chinese pulse expert and author of Pulse Diagnosis; Kiko Matsumoto OMD, author of Eight Extra Channel Diagnosis Furthermore she is a Feng Shui and Space Clearing Master. She created a Certification Program in Feng Shui for Bucks County Community College. Feng Shui is an off-shoot of Asian cultural arts and healing practices. Currently, she has 7 YouTube videos on Feng Shui with more scheduled to air. See YouTube Laila Wah Feng Shui.
Everything that I do is interconnected. It is one creative piece, an offering to life, a service to my fellowman. Each study and creation flow unto the other. There isn’t anything that is compartmentalized. Unity is present, each skill, each breath, and each life.
One of my literary idols is Han Su Yin who was both a medical doctor and a brilliant writer. Her first book A Many Splendid Thing was later converted to a film. She wrote extensively in-depth works that revealed various cultures within the landmass known as China. Thru her writings, I learned that not less than 54 cultures, not Han reside in China. I also admired her ability to write that first novel after working grueling hours as a doctor in Hong Kong during the ravages of WWII, while she raised a daughter; she found true love with a British correspondent who was killed in the war, as she faced daily apartheid of whites against Asians.
It is my humble desire to help humanity, whether it be thru my healing arts practice, or inspiration garnered in my writing and artwork. Opening and expanding ourselves to Spirit is the true purpose of our lives. Namaste, which means, “I greet the Divine within you, and you great the Divine within me. We are One.”