AWP in Chicago

This year AWP (Association of Writers & Writing Program) holds its Annual Conference & Bookfair in Chicago. Lisa Schlesinger, Ruth Margraff, Sands Hall, Kenneth Prestininzi and I, will be in a panel on Thursday- March 1, 2012

Dreaming New Cartographies: Playwriting across Genres and Cultures
(Lisa Schlesinger, Ruth Margraff, Sands Hall, Ezzat Goushegir, Kenneth Prestininzi)
Crystal Room, Palmer House Hilton, 3rd Floor
Historically, poems and stories have been performed long before they were written down. Five playwrights will explore new kinds of writing in the crosshairs of poetry, fiction, and theatre emerging in global theatre and literary venues. We will discuss the use of poetry and fiction in performance as well as playwriting techniques that enhance prose styles. We will address the use of cross-genre writing as a means to create new possibilities for global conversation across cultural divides.

Pardeh-khani & Naqqali

Picture of a Pardeh-khani
Two years ago Tehran Contemporary Muesuem of Arts held a performance of Naqqali

"Naqqali is a style of storytelling dedicated to epic stories from Ferdowsi’s masterpiece ‘Shahnameh’. Naqqali is performed by a naqqal or a morshed (mentor), mostly based on paintings depicting scenes from ‘Shahnameh’ (The book of Kings).
Another form of Naqqali is called ‘pardeh-khani’, which is dedicated to tragic stories of Muslim leaders especially the Shiite imams...."
Naggali in Shiraz
Pardeh-khani in Tehran
A picture of Pardeh-khani in Hamedan

Writing the Truth

Writing the Truth
Five Difficulties
By Bertolt Brecht

"Nowadays, anyone who wishes to combat lies and ignorance and to write the truth must overcome at least five difficulties...."

So, You Want to Be a Writer?

So, You Want to Be a Writer? by Charles Bukowski
Read the poem here.

Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov

No to War, Yes to Diplomacy

"Representatives Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Walter Jones (R-NC) are working with their colleagues to urge the President to pursue the diplomacy necessary to reduce rising tensions and stop war. Ellison and Jones are seeking the support of their fellow Members of Congress to sign an important letter to the President that says loud and clear: we want diplomacy, not war." NIAC

Kabul Bombing....

December 5, 2011

"Afghan Shia Muslims cry among the dead and injured after explosions during a religious ceremony in the centre of Kabul. At least 30 people were killed in an explosion at a Kabul shrine where Shia Muslims were marking the Day of Ashura Tuesday. The blast came in the city center where they had gathered to carry out religious rituals to mark the day, a public holiday in Afghanistan."

Afghan photographer Massoud Hossaini, trained by Aina NGO, has taken this picture. The winner of World Press Photo and Picture of the Year International (POYI) .Would really these pictures, the reflection of painful reality, effect the desensitized people and prevent more wars?