Category Archives: Writing

Attar in Progress: An Officer Falls in Love with a Prince

I’ve been making steady progress working on Ilahi Nama, and I thought it might be interesting to post some of what I’ve done so far. The latest poem of which I have finished the first draft, for example–just about all … Continue reading

Posted in Iran, Writing | 5 Comments

Ozone Park has Published One of My Poems

Ozone Park, the literary journal published by the MFA Program in Creative Writing and Literary Translation at Queens College in New York City, has published my poem “I Fell in Love With All That Struggled in You Not to Drown,” Here’s … Continue reading

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“My Face Became Eyes; My Eyes, Hands” – Translation Strategy and Metaphor

I am on sabbatical this semester to work on a translation of Ilahi Nama, The Book of God, by Farid al-Din Attar. I’ve been working on this book in bits and pieces for the past couple of years, producing first … Continue reading

Posted in Iran, Writing | 4 Comments

Review of “Nomad of Salt and Hard Water,” by Cynthia Dewi Oka

I think it was Eavan Boland who wrote the essay I kept thinking about while reading Cynthia Dewi Oka’s first book of poetry, Nomad of Salt and Hard Water, published this year by Dinah Press. I don’t remember the essay’s … Continue reading

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Finding Sheikh Saadi Shirazi on Twitter

I recently completed Dan Blank’s Build Your Author Platform online course (which I recommend, by the way, to anyone who wants to understand better how to treat her or his writing career as a business), and one of the things … Continue reading

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The First Poems I Ever Published

I was at my mother’s on Sunday, before Sandy hit New York, helping her clean out her attic because she’s moving to New Jersey and she wants to take with her as little as possible of the stuff that she’s … Continue reading

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Jackson Heights Poetry Festival’s 2012-2013 Season Begins September 4

In June, I took over as head of Jackson Heights Poetry Festival (JHPF), a literary organization located right here in Queens, NY. Since its inception, JHPF has sponsored poetry festivals, literary salons and the First Tuesdays reading series, which is … Continue reading

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It’s Like Turning an Ocean Liner

So I have, this past week, finally been able to put aside the work I’ve been doing for my union, which is a subject for another post, to focus on my own writing. (Edited to remove some ableist language. Frankly, … Continue reading

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RIP, Ray Bradbury

RonF has commented twice, now, that Ray Bradbury’s passing has passed without comment here. I have to admit I’m a little puzzled, myself. Here we celebrate, among other things, creative endeavor, including writing and speculative fiction. If this non-commentary state … Continue reading

Posted in Fiction, In the news, Popular (and unpopular) culture, Recommended Reading, Uncategorized, Writing | 14 Comments

Interview with Cynthia Dewi Oka

Remember how, long, long ago, I was starting a small press? Well! Dinah Press is getting a slow start, but we’re getting ready to release our first two books–Other Life Forms, a novel by moi; and nomad of salt and … Continue reading

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