Category Archives: literature

Three Poems Up on Poets For Living Waters

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I am late publicizing the fact that three of my poems, “Like This,” “Free Radicals” and “Empty Rhetoric,” were published on Poets for Living Waters. Here is “Free Radicals:” Rowboats on the pond: random particles dancing to laws they couldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Environmental issues, literature | Comments Off

"Men's Books" Don't Sell

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

Working on the “Fragments of Evolving Manhood” series has pretty much convinced me that I want to give the book on manhood and masculinity that I started writing in the 1980s another try. It will be, obviously, a very different … Continue reading →

Posted in literature | 33 Comments

Call for Papers: Investigating the Scope of Persian/Iranian Literatures

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

42nd Annual Convention, Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA) April 7-10, 2011 New Brunswick, NJ – Hyatt New Brunswick Host Institution: Rutgers University Keynote Speaker: Junot Diaz This panel welcomes papers on any aspect of Persian/Iranian literature, of any time period, … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, literature, Whatever | Comments Off

Translating Classical Persian Literature: Introducing Ferdowsi and the Shahnameh – Part 1

Posted on March 27, 2010 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

Often called the national epic of Iran, the Shahnameh or Book of Kings, was written in the 10th century CE by Abolqasem Ferdowsi, who took as his subject the pre-Islamic history of the Iranian people, starting with the creation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, literature | 1 Comment

Norouz Pirouz! Eid Moborak! Happy Iranian New Year!

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

It is Norouz, the Persian New Year, which is celebrated far and wide throughout what used to be the Persian Empire, and I thought I would share with you the section of Shahnameh, the Book of Kings, often called the … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, literature | 4 Comments

Transparency versus Stained Glass in Prose and in Comics

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Ampersand

Gonzo: I’m going to Bombay, India, to become a movie star! Fozzie Bear: You don’t go to Bombay to become a movie star. You go where we’re going: Hollywood! Gonzo: Sure, if you want to do it the easy way! … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartooning & comics, literature | 27 Comments

Kundiman Asian American Poetry Retreat, June 22 – 27, 2010

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

If you’re an Asian American poet, you should consider applying for this retreat. Kundiman does great work. Here’s a basic description: In order to help mentor the next generation of Asian-American poets, Kundiman is sponsoring an annual Poetry Retreat at … Continue reading →

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"The Myths of Liberal Zionism," by Yitzhak Laor – I want to read this book

Posted on January 1, 2010 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

Writing in the January issue of Harper’s Magazine, Joshua Cohen wrote this at the end of his review of Laor’s book: It often seems that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is just […] a textual problem. If so, then the muddle of … Continue reading →

Posted in Anti-Semitism, Jews and Judaism, literature, Palestine & Israel | 1 Comment

Translating Classical Persian Poetry: Why Retranslate Attar's "Ilahi-Nama?"

Posted on December 30, 2009 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

Farid Al-Din Attar is one of the most important writers in the Persian canon. Not only is he a major poet in his own right, but his work offers crucial insight into Sufi thought and experience, while prefiguring other important … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, literature | 3 Comments

Translating Classical Persian Poetry: Farid al-Din Attar's "Ilahi-Nama"

Posted on December 28, 2009 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

One of eight major works that can reliably be ascribed to Attar, Ilahi-Nama (Book of God or, sometimes, Divine Book) has, according to Encyclopedia Iranica, been translated once into English, by John A. Boyle in 1976, and once into French, … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, literature | 1 Comment