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VPR's coverage of arts and culture in the region.

'Do I Scare You?': Weybridge Teen's Poem Confronts Islamophobia

Mourners lay flowers on a wall at the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday, March 18, 2019.
Vincent Thian
/
AP
Mourners lay flowers on a wall at the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday, March 18, 2019.

Last month, the Addison Independent published a poem by Narges Anzali, a 13-year-old eighth grader who attends Middlebury Union Middle School. The poem is titled simply: "To All The People Who Hate Muslims."

Anzali originally wrote it as part of the Young Writers Project and its publication in her local newspaper came on the heels of the mass shooting in New Zealand, where 50 people at two separate mosques in Christchurch were killed in an act of terrorism.

Vermont Edition spoke to Anzali about her poem and her impetus for writing it.

You can read her poem here.

Broadcast live on Thursday, April 18, 2019 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Jane Lindholm is the host, executive producer and creator of But Why: A Podcast For Curious Kids. In addition to her work on our international kids show, she produces special projects for Vermont Public. Until March 2021, she was host and editor of the award-winning Vermont Public program Vermont Edition.
Matt Smith worked for Vermont Public from 2017 to 2023 as managing editor and senior producer of Vermont Edition.
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