Here's what the photography and poetry winners of the JUVEN Era Contest have to say about their craft, their process, community and themselves. Photography winner Sara Staker talks her photography journey, challenges; Poetry winner Ivi Hua talks rejection, her process, the meaning of her poem, and what's next on her TBR.

Written by Nour Salama: a guide by an Arab living in the middle east.

Arabs come from all across the world — not just Asia
As an Egyptian myself, I come from North Africa! However, I often see the only Arab representation is usually from within the Middle East.
Arab countries in Africa include Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan and Tunisia.
​Although this is where Arabs usually originate, Arabs can be found residing in Europe, America, Australia and Antartica as well.
Some Arabs may not know how to speak Arabic because they have lived in the West for a while. Others however hold on to their language dearly no matter the circumstances- especially muslim Arabs.

​Poetry isn’t popular. Arguably, it’s always been a struggling art form with its ups and downs in history. That’s not to say that poetry is bad, really it’s the contrary, but people have often preferred novels and plays to poems. Children were taught in school how to rip apart a poem and dissect all of its pieces without learning how to appreciate the words and the craftsmanship required to put them together, nor simply taught how to read a poem and enjoy it. Because of this, not many people really take the time to enjoy a poem or write one for their own amusement.
In recent years, however, the internet has changed the game for poetry.

Listen to this; feel its rhythm:

The pool players. 
Seven at the Golden Shovel.

We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.
That's "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks. Have a listen to the linked video, too, if you have the time. ​

 While humor occasionally seems out of place in heavier stories, it all depends on its use. Stories almost always need some laughter. But that's all easy to say, harder to practice in writing. So here's a breakdown of five common types of humor I see in stories — wit, banter, sardonic, absurd, and caricature — plus how to use them to their best effect.