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I'm reminded of when I was in shadow jail, and the people in charge told me that my hair was…
A major step towards solving this problem is the Housing First model (as opposed to Treatment First). A Review of…
Thanks for the catch! And, I have no idea whatsoever what a rubric's cube would be or would do. But…
Much as I like the idea of a rubric's cube, it's spelled Rubik's cube. (Now what would a rubric's cube…
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Category Archives: Iran
I Can’t Think of a Better Reason to Write
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
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
The Calligraphic Art of Azra Aghighi Bakhshayeshi – The Tehran Times
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
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My Companion’s Scent Seeped into Me
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
I Have a Tumblr…
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
Javad Zarif’s Video Message: “There Is a Way Forward”
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
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Thank You, Veterans
I wrote this on November 11, and then before I could get a thumbs-up from certain people to post it, life intervened. So, it’s a little late, but still worth saying. As GB Stern said, silent gratitude isn’t much use … Continue reading
Posted in Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iran, Iraq, Korea
38 Comments
Trying To Be an Ally: Thinking About Hejab, Muslim Invisibility, and the Casual Hatred that is Cultural Appropriation (1)
In 2008, when my family and I traveled to Iran for my brother-in-law’s wedding, the day after we left Tehran to visit my sister-in-law and her family in Isfahan, the Iranian morality police drove a paddy wagon into Tajrish, a … Continue reading
Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Gender and the Body, Iran
28 Comments
Farid al-Din Attar: A Reading Journal 6
Here’s another quote from The Conference of the Birds: But think of some new pilgrim, some young boy, Whose boldness comes from mere excess of joy; He has no certain knowledge of the Way, And what seems rudeness is but … Continue reading
Posted in Iran, Religion, Writing
2 Comments
One of My Favorite Poems by Saadi of Shiraz
I’ve been thinking about this poem a lot lately, because what it says could easily have been labeled heresy by the authorities of Saadi’s time, which was 13th century Iran, and an accusation of heresy could, conceivably, have gotten him … Continue reading
I have a notion that anything which is permitted to housed people (like drug use and addiction-- they're illegal, but…