Egypt and American Foreign Policy

Read "Egypt Protests Show American Foreign-Policy Folly" An article by Stephen Kinzer.

Women of Egypt

Women of Egypt: Photos posted by Leil Zahra Mortada


Tear Gas!

To the memory of Doa Khalil Aswad

To the memory of Doa Khalil Aswad, the 17 year old Iraqi Kurdish girl who was brutally stoned to death by her tribe in April 7, 2007. Her crime was LOVE!
Listen to this song sung by John Goetelen dedicated to her.

Another execution in Iran!

Another execution in Iran!

"Capital punishment is an intolerable denial of civil liberties..."
Read Eight objections to death penalty

the Bride of Acacias at IWA

My performance at the International Women Associates went very well!

Reading of "The Bride of Acacias"

Today I will perform my play "The Bride of Acacias" at International Women Associates in Chicago. This reading will be exclusively for their members.

Invitation

Pay visit to elders
Pay visit to lonely women
Pay visit to lonely children
Pay visit to lonely men
Pay visit to lonely trees
And lonely birds
And lonely animals
Pay visit to those who can’t see
To those who can’t walk
To those who can’t speak
To those who lost themselves in war
To those who were tortured in prisons
To those whose houses were burnt

Pay visit to the rusted deteriorated cars in the remote graveyards.

Pay visit to a desert

Don’t think you will be a scented flower
Forever in a rose-garden

By: Ezzat Goushegir

Nina Simone, One More Time...

Ain't got...I got life...
By Nina Simone

I ain't got no home, ain't got no shoes
Ain't got no money, Ain't got no clothes
Ain't got no perfume, Ain't got no skirts
Ain't got no sweaters, Ain't got no smokes
Ain't got no god.
............................
Ain't got no....More
............................
there is something i've got,
nobody can take it away...
Got my hair on my head
Got my brains, Got my ears
Got my eyes, Got my nose
Got my mouth, I got my smile
I got my tongue, Got my chin
Got my neck, Got my boobies
Got my heart, Got my soul
Got my back, I got my sex
More..

Tunisia's protests spark suicide in Algeria

Tunisia's protests spark suicide in Algeria and fears through Arab world. A man burns to death in Algeria in echo of man's death that began Tunisian protests while Arab states are nervous. Read more...

Puzzle

Victory in Tunisia, execution of Iranian activist Hossein Khezri in Iran, silence in a room filled with gloom...

Barbie Doll

Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy

This girlchild was born as usual
and presented dolls that did pee-pee
and miniature GE stoves and irons
and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs.
Read More...

Crime and Punishment in Istanbul

Crime and Punishment in Istanbul a new book by Fariba Zarinehbaf

"This vividly detailed revisionist history exposes the underworld of the largest metropolis of the early modern Mediterranean and through it the entire fabric of a complex, multicultural society. Fariba Zarinebaf maps the history of crime and punishment in Istanbul over more than one hundred years, considering transgressions such as riots, prostitution, theft, and murder and at the same time tracing how the state controlled and punished its unruly population. Taking us through the city's streets, workshops, and houses, she gives voice to ordinary people—the man accused of stealing, the woman accused of prostitution, and the vagabond expelled from the city....." Read More...

Happy Birthday Marc

Marc,
January 13 is your birthday! Although you're not in this world anymore, but I feel your presence!

Flower Duet

Dawn by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

It's only art that makes the harshness of life bearable!
Watch and listen to Flower Duet from Lakmé by Léo Delibes

Suicide...Now, Mehrdad Yalfani...

Painting by Edward Manet

"There is only one serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide."
Albert Camus

2011 started with news of suicide among young Iranians in diaspora! Last week Alireza Pahlavi's suicide was announced and today Mehrdad Yalfani, the twenty four years old artist, the son of prominent Iranian playwright Mohsen Yalfani. A few months ago, Mansour Khaksar, Iranian poet took his life in Los Angeles....and before that Addas Na'lbandian, Iraj Artimus, Mehdi Kafaii, Mirfakhraii and...and....

Is life meaningless? Why is suicide a solution?

In the Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus Poetically describes:
“It happens that the stage sets collapse. Rising, streetcar, four hours in the office or the factory, meal, streetcar, four hours of work, meal, sleep, and Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday and Saturday according to the same rhythm – this path is easily followed most of the time. But one day the “why” arises and everything begins in that weariness tinged with amazement.”

There are deep causes behind suicides among Iranians in exile!


The Suicide of Dorothy Hale by Frida Kahlo

An Interview

An interview, a literary conversation between Mahasti Shahrokhi and I....

History repeats!

The last Emperor of Russia and his family were executed by Bolsheviks, the last Emperor of China lived a torturous life. Now, in Iran's case, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi's family had to bear an immense pain living in exile and experiencing trauma...

With the vast range of Alireza Pahlavi's interests and studies, from music to philology, from history to ancient Iranian civilization, I must say that we lost one of the educated, responsible and sensible soul of young Iranians in diaspora!

It's a strange time...
Read Stephen Kinzer's article on this tragedy.

Roundheads and Peakheads

Sectarian violence and religious segregation in the world are the results of many different factors such as economic crisis, power struggle etc...
"Sectarianism, according to one definition, is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion or factions of a political movement."

The repeated brutal incidents remind me of a remarkable play "Roundheads and Peakheads" by Bertolt Brecht.

Is really Brecht rediscovered once again as a source of inspiration?

Creative Writing Course

Tomorrow is my first day of Winter course in teaching Creative Writing at SNL at DePaul University.
Read my interview published in Connections.