Author Archives: Richard Jeffrey Newman

My Companion’s Scent Seeped into Me

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

This week’s “Sa’di Says” is a brief poem from one of the introductory sections of Golestan: I held in my bath a perfumed piece of clay that came to me from a beloved’s hand. I asked it, “Are you musk … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Writing | 7 Comments

It’s Nice to Know Someone’s Doing Higher Education Right

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

Rebecca Schuman has a piece up on Slate, “Doing Higher Ed Right,” in which she writes about Iowa State University, which is “the only—only—institution of higher learning in the entire country to spend the last eight years hiring full-time faculty … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | 11 Comments

Writing a Poem is a Confrontation with the Unknowable

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

It’s been a long time since I believed in a god like the biblical one I learned as a child that I was supposed to love and fear, respect and obey. I’ve written a little bit about why I stopped believing, and I’ve written out … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion, Writing | 1 Comment

I Have a Tumblr…

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

It’s called Sa’di Says and I will posting to it excerpts from my translations of Sa’di, the 13th century Persian poet, which were originally published by Global Scholarly Publications in two separate volumes, Selections from Saadi’s Gulistan andSelections from Saadi’s Bustan. Both books have been out … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Writing | Comments Off on I Have a Tumblr…

In Answer to the Person Who Recently Asked Me What My Poems Are About

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I feared back then a world I couldn’t name, and I’m not sure I can name it even now.

Posted in Writing | 2 Comments

“Of Course There Are Times When a Man Has to Discipline His Wife!”

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

One of the reasons I haven’t been blogging lately is that I’ve been hard at work on an essay that I thought was going to be a very simple one to write. Instead, it has turned out to be one … Continue reading →

Posted in Rape, intimate violence, & related issues | 3 Comments

Javad Zarif’s Video Message: “There Is a Way Forward”

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I met Mr. Zarif some years ago, when he was Iran’s representative to the United Nations, though I am sure he would not remember me. He gave a presentation with a former and well-respected American diplomat, whose name now escapes … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran | Comments Off on Javad Zarif’s Video Message: “There Is a Way Forward”

Public Safety, Racial Awareness, and a Community College Class in Workplace Writing

Posted on November 24, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

“Can we talk about this email that the college sent out to all the students?” one of the men in my technical writing class asked me, staring at the laptop open on his desk. “I’m pretty sure you’d have given … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Race, racism and related issues | 14 Comments

The Map of Love, by Ahdaf Soueif

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I have written before about how impoverished our vocabulary for love is, and so I found this post on Facebook by Ajam Media Collective absolutely fascinating: Post by Ajam Media Collective. Cross-posted.

Posted in Language Politics, Writing | 12 Comments

I’m Reading Thursday at Naugatuck Valley Community College

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

If any readers of Alas live in or near Waterbury Connecticut, please come down to Naugatuck Valley Community College for this reading. It would be lovely to see you:

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