In November 2021, I endeavored to write at least 1600 words every day for a month without limiting myself to any one form. I had a story I needed to tell, but I was unclear on the “how.” What came …
Essay
Testimonies written by Iranian Female Composers Association (IFCA) members inside of Iran
ANONYMOUS #1
1. How do you evaluate your career as an Iranian female composer/singer in Iran?
As a female composer, I must work harder to establish my artistic work. As a composer in general, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, …
Kesi gir dad?
It’s the first question I ask my friend as she meets me at Food Court, the new hot spot located inside the Jam-e-Jam shopping complex and, as the name says, a food court in Tehran. It’s the first of its …
The Rose Generation
All the past years I had visited Molana Rumi in Konya, I had never heard of that house. I knocked and a young woman with long, black hair opened the door for me. Not surprised by strangers, she welcomed me …
Wrong Syntax
I cannot say anything straight about Iran. I use small words, simple, but the ideas come out twisted up, like a pair of French pantyhose the women wear to mehmoonis, then pull off in relief as the night ends; unzip the dress, …
Farsi is killing me
I grew up in Tehran, where Farsi is used everywhere. It’s also my mother tongue. I scored high in the Farsi literature section of Iran’s competitive national university entrance exam. I think Farsi sounds as pretty as French. If more …
Passing: An Elegy in VIII Parts
I.
As a child, you hate sticking out the way you do: weird house, weird family, weird language. But your father calls you a princess, claims his uncle had sworn to royal blood even on his dying day. Regardless of …
Blue Daniel
He was in his early forties, married, with the blackest hair I’d ever seen on a white man, dusted with dandruff he was either trying to get rid of or felt no particular way about. As I stood across Eighth …
Murky Waters Rising
Prelude: “The Fox and The Hummingbird”
In the backyard of my grandmother’s house, there was a fox that lived in a ditch. Darting across the edge of the forest between the Vermillion River and the house, the cousins competed to …
Shadow Family
We were the fun family. All the kids wanted to play at our house. Working class and artist poor, we always found room for guests. Most weekends, using battered equipment, we hiked, camped, swam, or cross-country skied. We shared library …
