Author Archives: Richard Jeffrey Newman

Would We Be Living in a Better World if the Tyrants of the Past Had Never Existed?

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

When Someone is Driven to Murder, Where Does the Responsibility Lie? It’s been a very long time since someone called me a bleeding-heart liberal, a label that was never complimentary and always carried with it a connotation not simply of … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Religion, Writing | 5 Comments

Sa’di’s Most Famous Lines Hang on the Wall of the United Nations

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I am a few days late with this post because we had some renovation issues to deal with in my house last week and they left me no time at all to write. The extra time, however, did help me understand better … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Writing | 9 Comments

This is (Potentially) a VERY Big Deal: Hamas drops call for destruction of Israel from manifesto

Posted on August 10, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

ETA: When I first read the Guardian article, I carelessly did not look at the date, which is January 12, 2006, and so this is not so much a big deal now. Nonetheless, it is significant that Hamas has taken … Continue reading →

Posted in International issues, Palestine & Israel | 4 Comments

I’ve Lived Until The End of My Desires

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I’ve heard more than a few jokes about men who, after finding the proverbial genie in a bottle, manage to screw up their three wishes. The one that comes to me now involves a man who walks into a bar … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Writing | 11 Comments

The Viper Strikes, and Lives

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I have been fascinated by metaphor since I was an undergraduate linguistics major, when one of my professors assigned parts of Metaphors We Live By, by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. In that book, Lakoff and Johnson argue that, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Writing | 18 Comments

I Can’t Think of a Better Reason to Write

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

You never know how people are going to find your work, and you never know how it’s going to touch them or why. Earlier this month, a man contacted me asking for a copy of the uncorrected proof of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Writing | 2 Comments

In Them Alone My Spirit Will Endure

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

Towards the end of his preface to Golestan, Sa’di—that’s a picture of me at his tomb in Shiraz–says: Long after we have crumbled into dust, and the grains of who we were are far-flung atoms, these words, well chosen and arranged, will live, … Continue reading →

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Say Nothing If You Cannot Say It Well

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I think this week’s Sa’di Says speaks for itself: A seasoned speaker knows his craft demands careful thought or his words will go to waste. Follow his example. Say nothing if you cannot say it well; make silence the voice … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Writing | 3 Comments

The Calligraphic Art of Azra Aghighi Bakhshayeshi – The Tehran Times

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

The Tehran Times has a beautiful gallery up of calligraphic art, which I know next to nothing about, except that I think it’s beautiful. Here are a couple: You should check out the rest for yourself.

Posted in Abortion & reproductive rights, Iran | Comments Off on The Calligraphic Art of Azra Aghighi Bakhshayeshi – The Tehran Times

Not Much Time Remains

Posted on July 4, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I am posting this week’s Sa’di Says, “Not Much Time Remains,” in memory of my friend Adam Schonbrun, who died in February: I know life leaves me with each breath I take, and these last fifty years I’ve been asleep. … Continue reading →

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