Arts and Literature

به غرعان، به غرعان، به غرعان، به غرعان

خدا بی "خیال" ترین مردهاست، به غرعان
که "خاطر" ندارد چه رفته، چه رود به ایران

خدا چشم ندارد، گوش هم نه، به غرعان
ندیده چه دید مادر ستار، نشنید این همه زاران >>>

ترانه های فراق ٥

مهمان خیال ماست دلدار امشب
بر چشم حسود میرود خار امشب

من هستم و یار و فرصت شرح فراق
یارب در صبح بسته میدار امشب >>>

Goodbye Iran

I recently published a book, Goodbye Iran which is the true story of two young men, Hossein and Hamid, and a young woman, Afsaneh, who in 1983 decide to escape from the repressive and institutionalized land of their birth in search of a better life. The book follows them on their real-life journey, full of difficult decisions, intense joys, and bitter disappointments as they set sail to say goodbye to Iran forever>>>

Honour

As children, my friends and I had no shortage of inventive, novel, and ingenious obscenities to hurl at each other. However, nothing stung as much as being called a namard (lit. ‘non-man’) or bi-gheyrat (lit. ‘honourless’). Similarly, while one might not have made much of another’s anger or frustration, the minute the word namoos (honour) was uttered, you knew things were going to get ugly. Elif Shafak’s latest novel tells the story of the Toprak family, and the troubles that befall them after an illicit extra-marital affair takes place>>>

Hope

Emily Dickinson calls “hope” a bird
Who has perched in her soul
And without asking for seeds
Sings incessantly.
>>>

Fragility

Say ants.
What made them small is time.
They are old.
They've seen catastrophes
that dwarf all our storms combined,
seen burning heat, bitter cold.
>>>

ReOrienting Myself

In 1990, I auditioned for an acting program in New York and the very thoughtful and pragmatic teacher informed me that I would never be cast as a lead on the American stage. I would only be considered for domestic help parts or minor support roles. His reasons were my “ethnic” looks and my accent. The accent I could be coached out of but there was little I could do about my looks. His message, as I heard it was to basically give up on a career in professional theater in the US; his “American stage” had no room for someone like me>>>

Unexpectedly

Unexpectedly, sun is rising on your shoulders
As you come from a long road of battle
While the blood is flowing from our ears
With the bad news penetrating day by day in our soul
While sorrow caves in on our lips and our chest>>>

ترانه های فراق - ۴

در حضرت تو غرق گناهم ای دوست
روی سیه ام بود گواهم ای دوست

از موی سپید خود ندیدم ثمری
من ماندم و این روی سیاهم ای دوست >>>

The Bride & Groom Game

Zari Jan was 36 and not yet married. Her younger brother left for the West to study and she was finally free as a bird. She proposed first, to Agha Farzin, the sandwich guy, then to Ahmad Agha – the fruit seller in the neighborhood. From morning to dusk, Zari Jan would stand by the bridal shop in the town square and stare so hard you could just cry. Finally a family meeting was called. Her old mother begged all her children to find a solution>>>

The Night

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شراره‌ی کبریتِ بهانه

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ترانه های فراق ۳

یار آمده ای درد دگر جای تو نیست
ای مرگ برو که جای یغمای تو نیست

امشب گل روی دوست مهمان من است
ای غصه برو، غصه فردای تو نیست >>>

اتوبوسی بنام هوس

فردا
پشتِ دروازۀ شهر جمع‌شدند صدها
حق‌جوی و كینه‌خواه
خدایان می‌خندیدند
راهیان از غلظتِ نور
>>>

ماسوله در خیال

امشب،
وقتی که ماه بالا آمد
شال سپید را
بر شانه ات بیفکن >>>

Magical Mystery Tour

Like her outfit, Afsoon’s studio, nay – atelier - is something of magic and wonder. Though bare and somewhat industrial in its appearance, and possessing the unassuming exterior of a residential flat, the place is anything but dull. Aside from her signature colourful collages splayed out on the floor for the consideration of yours truly, I was struck by the myriad oddities and eccentricities that had turned a corner of her studio into some sort of fantastic shrine>>>

داستانهای استانبول ۱۰

من همون جایی که وایساده بودم خشکم زد. انگار دوش آب سرد و آب جوش هم‌زمان روی سرم وا شدن. دست دراز کردم و کاغذها رو برداشتم. چشمام تار می‌دیدن. از میون اشک‌هایی که هنوز سرازیر نشده بودن دیدم اسمی که رو تقاضانامه بود، اسم من نبود. نفسم دوباره بالا اومد. دنیا که جلو چشمم تاریک شده بود، دوباره روشن شد>>>

ترانه های فراق ۲

ای وای دلم که رفته از دست دلم
هرکس که بدل نشست بشکست دلم

دیوانه دلم اگر کمی عاقل بود
افسار گسسته دل نمی بست دلم >>>

فیلم « پرویز» و سناریویی برای آینده ایران

در یک روز پاییزی تورونتو و در یک جمع خصوصی، فیلم سینمایی «پرویز» به کارگردانی مجید برزگر را دیدم. فیلمی که این روزها مشغول کسب جوایز از فستیوال های مهم دنیا است. سعید آرمند تهیه کننده ایرانی- کانادایی، در آغاز فیلم از لحظات تلخ و شیرین ساختن فیلم مستقل در ایران گفت و فیلم شروع شد>>>