Daastan
Asylum of Lovers
Six stories of love, madness, art and regret, including The Last Madman, Our Inauspicious Stars and The Musical Apocalypse.
Kindle on AmazonPrint on AmazonOn Goodreads ↗Writer · Speaker · Teacher
Shoaib Rashdi
The Paracosmic Polymath
As featured in
A curiosity-fuelled fella striving to be a polymath in an era of rampant specialisation. I write books, compose poetry, speak, and teach a trove of disciplines.
- Top 20South Asia’s AuthorsLiterati 2018
- ★ 5.00Goodreads AuthorReader rating
- Winner#WeToo Short StoryDaastan × Stories To Action
- 6,500+Lessons TaughtOne-to-one
“Inaction is the most despicable action.
Asylum of Lovers · The Last Madman
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About
Hi, I’m Shoaib Rashdi.
My interests include, but are not limited to, philosophy, theology, history, mathematics, literature, science, psychology, art and storytelling.
I am a Muslim by religion, Pakistani by nationality and Sindhi by ethnicity.
Pronunciation of my name: Show Abe (as in Abe Lincoln).
- Philosophy
- Theology
- History
- Mathematics
- Literature
- Science
- Psychology
- Art
- Storytelling
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Achievements
0lessons taught
0hours of teaching
0books published
0pieces online
Finalist, National Mathematics Olympiad
Named one of South Asia’s Top 20 Authors: Literati 2018
Finalist in the South Asian Award for Micro-Fiction for Birth to a Dancing Star, chosen from around 100 submissions across South Asia by Daastan (Pakistan), White Falcon Publishing (India) and Outcast Magazine (Sri Lanka), and published in print. Watch the announcement ↗
Winner, #WeToo Short Story Writing Competition
For the short story Talb-e-Mamta ke Sadqe, one of six winning stories in the Daastan × Stories To Action competition (English translation by Reshail Naeem). See the announcement ↗ Read the winning story ↗
Three books published with WriterTalks
Asylum of Lovers, Chaotic Ruminations and Oblivion’s Yelp.
Interviewed by Karvan
“Reading for the mere pleasure of reading is the best habit.” Read the interview ↗
TESOL/TEFL certified
World TESOL Academy · issued February 2022 · Credential ID WTA22240911
Goodreads Author
Author page on Goodreads with a 5.00 average reader rating.
6,500+ one-to-one lessons taught
IB, AQA and IGCSE English, SAT/PSAT, writing, and more.
In their words
One of the young geniuses, self-motivated and talented students of my class… Mr. Rashdi possesses exceptional communication skills with outstanding level of reflection, curiosity and adaptation.
Read the full letter
“I am pleased to write this letter of recommendation in favour of Mr. Shoaib Rashdi. Five years back, when I was a Lecturer in the Sukkur-IBA Community College Khairpur, Pakistan, he was one of the young geniuses, self-motivated and talented students of my class. During his studies, Mr. Rashdi used to be out spoken and positive to have conversation with teachers and senior fellows. I have observed his talent and was impressed by his studies, he never averted from receiving assignments. Mr. Rashdi possesses exceptional communication skills with outstanding level of reflection, curiosity and adaptation. I firmly believe that he will prove himself as an outstanding scholar and participant, and will carve out his name as pride for the system through his hard work and dedication.”
I was Shoaib’s teacher at Sukkur IBA University. He was one of the best students in his class. Shoaib has excellent technical, communication and writing skills. I am happy for Shoaib that he has changed his career goals and pursuing his passion.
He is a rising star, he worked on several projects with us and his work was exceptional.
Recommendations from 2021, shown as written. Verified on LinkedIn ↗
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Public Speaking
Ideas, delivered with conviction.
I speak on literature, philosophy, learning and the writing life: talks, keynotes, panels, workshops and compering for schools, universities and organisations.
- Reading as a way of life
- The examined life: thinking for yourself
- Storytelling and the craft of writing
- Learning how to learn
- Art, ambition and mediocrity
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Books
Chaotic Ruminations
Maxims on art, greatness, mediocrity, freedom and the self. “Paradox is the essence of all wisdom.”
Kindle on AmazonPrint on AmazonOn Goodreads ↗
Oblivion’s Yelp
“Is the oblivion’s yelp so terrible? Is the ticking clock so merry?”
Kindle on AmazonPrint on AmazonOn Goodreads ↗On the desk
- Mildi: A Tale of Friendship Gone Mad. A novel, serialised below.
- Qaysus & Maya: A Song of Syzygy.
- Birth to a Dancing Star
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Goodreads Author
Dreams & DelusionsAnthology · my short story06
Quotes
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Posters
Quotes from my books, set as posters. Click one to view it full size.
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Writing
Published elsewhere
- My ReemiWriterTalks
- The Redemptive Potential of Single National Curriculum: Eradicating the Hegemony of the English LanguageMedium ↗
- Photography: PetsMacro Magazine
- Modern Pleasure IslandMedium ↗
- Caulfield Versus CapitalismMedium ↗
- Superseding the Sanctified LanguageMedium ↗
- Shattered HeartsLiterary Spark
More essays on Medium ↗
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Learn with me
The Academy
TESOL/TEFL-certified teacher · World TESOL Academy
Over 6,500 one-to-one lessons have shaped a method: build the analytical sentence, prove every reading four ways, and practise one skill at a time until it holds. The Academy puts that method in one place for my students.
IB English Lang & Lit (HL/SL)AQA GCSE EnglishIGCSE EnglishSAT / PSATWriting & GrammarAP LanguagePPL(A) TheoryCSS / PMS
- WatchOne micro-step at a time on a finished example.
- TogetherThe same chain, with a gap to fill.
- AloneYour turn: timed, and marked on a checklist.
- ImproveV1 → V2 → final, with every change named.
See me teach
The 5-Level Analysis Method
A free course from my teaching channel, The Literature Maestro: the template-based system I use to take students from “I don’t know what to write” to analysis that examiners reward, one level at a time.
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Support my work
If my writing, talks or lessons have given you something, help me keep making them.
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Contact & booking
Book a talk, ask about lessons, or just say hello.