It Begins With The Body

It Begins With The Body by Hana Shafi explores the milestones and hurdles of a brown girl coming into her own. Shafi's poems display a raw and frank intimacy and address anxiety, unemployment, heartbreak, relationships, identityand faith.

Accompanied by Shafi's candid illustrations that share the same delightful mixture of grotesque and humour found in her poems, It Begins With The Body navigates the highs and lows of youth. It is about feeling like an outsider, and reconciling with pain and awkwardness. It's about arguing with your mum about wanting to wax off your unibrow to the first time you threw up in a bar in your twenties, and everything in between. Funny and raw, personal and honest, Shafi's exciting debut is about finding the right words you wished you had found when you needed them the most. (From Book*hug)

• This Toronto artist is using her love of drawing to combat hate
• This artist is making social media a safer space one illustration at a time
• Best Canadian poetry of 2018
• 15 Canadian books to read on International Women's Day

Interviews with HanaShafi

The anti-troll: this artist is making social media a safer space one illustration at a time

7 years ago

Duration 3:20

Hana Shafis (aka Frizz Kid) illustrations of healing struck a chord on the internet and gained her thousands of followers.