Posted on: April 10, 2009
The Poetry of Iranian Women. Edited by Sheema Kalbasi
Celebrated poet and activist, Sheema Kalbasi, has brought out a new anthology of Persian poetry. You can sample a few poems from this collection below.
* * * * *
The Arts know no national boundaries. The Republic of Arts and Letters encompasses the entire world. For too long, those in power across the globe have benefited mightily, cynically from pitting group against group, nation against nation, and we all suffer as a result. We suffer in the lack of understanding that acompanies a parochial vision, a narrow vision, a limited range of experiences. We suffer from the loss of genius and innovation. No government should restrict us from meetings with the widest array of human nature and Nature Herself.…
[More...]
Posted on: April 10, 2009
IT’S A MAN’S WORLD TO THE END OF THE END—
I am a woman. Simply.
To look at me is a sin —
I must be veiled.
To hear my voice is a temptation
that must be hushed.
For me to think is a crime
so I must not be schooled.
I am to bear it all
and die quietly, without complaint.
Only then can I be admitted to the court of God
where I must repose naked on a marble cloud
feed virtuous men succulent grapes
pour them wine from golden vats
and murmur songs of love…
Sholeh Wolpé
__________
Time
That old man sitting on the bench
is you, a little boy biking around
Your hair is now white, spread
by the traces of age
and I?…
[More...]
Posted on: September 29, 2008
We have some new poetry on tap from Sheema Kalbasi, Alessio Zanelli and Tony Jones. Sheema also tipped me off to a very good short film and hopes our readers will view the movie here.
The filmmaker in question, Hossein Martin Fazeli, is also a poet. One I hope to publish here soon.
* * * * *
If I had another life to live, I think I would be a filmmaker. The ability to make art that way, to combine prose, poetry, music, soundscapes, landscapes, paintings, phởtography, motion. It has it all. And I don’t think that “all” has been fully exploited. One could do a life of a poet, a musician, a novelist, a painter, a philosopher. One could utilize most of our senses and hint at the rest.…
[More...]
