Nadim Shamma-Sourgen is still learning to read and write, but at 4 years old, he’s already accomplished more than many adults!
The little boy lives in the U.K. with his mom, Yasmine Shamma, who teaches literature at the University of Reading. When she first noticed her son’s gift for poetry, she was stunned – and she isn’t the only one!
Nadim recites his poems while his mom writes them down, and his favorite topic is nature. Yasmine is so proud of his work that when she met poet and writer Kate Clanchy, she couldn’t help but share it with her. Kate was just as amazed. She’d never met a 4-year-old as insightful. So she began sharing the boy’s verses on Twitter, touching thousands.
I wasn’t tweeting the poems because they were so much like adult work — it was because they were so purely childlike,” Kate told The Guardian. “Nadim has the very rare ability to articulate in images what it is to be a four-year-old, to love your mum and bugs, to wonder about baddies, baths and love, and to ‘hang up your brave’ when you come in from nursery.”
Before long, her tweets caught the attention of children’s book publisher Walker Books. Executives were so impressed with Nadim’s poetic prowess that they offered him a book deal! They plan to publish a collection of Nadim’s poems next year.
“The poems talk about such important feelings, like love and loneliness, and Nadim finds the perfect words,” added Walker executive Denise Johnstone-Burt. “They are simple, inspirational and have a wisdom all of their own.”
This deal will make Nadim one of the youngest writers to be published, but he’s more concerned about getting his own copy, which, of course, he will. In the meantime, he’ll keep churning out his childlike wisdom.
Congratulations, Nadim! You may not understand how big of an accomplishment this is now, but you certainly will in the future. And by then, we’re sure you’ll have already published plenty more poems!
Share as a reminder that age doesn’t matter when it comes to creating art!
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