The Man He Killed

 
The Man He Killed

By Thomas Hardy

"Had he and I but met
            By some old ancient inn,
We should have sat us down to wet
            Right many a nipperkin!

            "But ranged as infantry,
            And staring face to face,
I shot at him as he at me,
            And killed him in his place.

            "I shot him dead because —
            Because he was my foe,
Just so: my foe of course he was;
            That's clear enough; although

            "He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,
            Off-hand like — just as I —
Was out of work — had sold his traps —
            No other reason why.

            "Yes; quaint and curious war is!
            You shoot a fellow down
You'd treat if met where any bar is,
            Or help to half-a-crown."

Éirinn & Iran go Brách

 Éirinn & Iran go Brách

By: Dr. Mansour Bonakdarian 

 

"This book analyzes particular patterns of nationalist self-configuration and nationalist uses of memory, counter-memory, and historical amnesia in Ireland from roughly around the time of the emergence of a broad-based non-sectarian Irish nationalist platform in the late eighteenth century (the Society of United Irishmen) until Ireland’s partition and the founding of the Irish Free State in 1922. In approaching Irish nationalism through the particular historical lens of “Iran,” this book underscores the fact that Irish nationalism during this period (and even earlier) always utilized a historical paradigm that grounded Anglo-Irish encounters and Irish nationalism in the broader world history, a process that I term “worlding of Ireland.” In effect, Irish nationalism was always politically and culturally cosmopolitan in outlook in some formulations, even in the case of many nationalists who resorted to insular and narrowly defined exclusionary ethnic and/or religious formulations of the Irish “nation.” Irish nationalists, as nationalists in many other parts of the world, recurrently imagined their own history either in contrast to or as reflected in, the histories of peoples and lands elsewhere, even while claiming the historical uniqueness of the Irish experience. Present in a wide range of Irish nationalist political, cultural, and historical utterances were assertions of past and/or present affinities with other peoples and lands."

It’s a privilege to read Dr. Bonakdarian’s new book:

Éirinn & Iran go Brách: Iran in Irish-nationalist historical, literary, cultural, and political imaginations from the late 18th century to 1921

“Mansour Bonakdarian offers a sustained, meticulously researched comparative history on Irish-Iranian entanglements spanning the long nineteenth century. Moving from the initial conduit of romantic orientalism toward a colonial lens on Imperial British world politics, it is a very welcome addition to the fields of Irish studies, nationalism studies, and comparative history.” ― Joep Leerssen, Emeritus Professor, Universities of Amsterdam and Maastricht

Bride of Acacias and Six Silent Men at Chicago Dramatists

A staged reading of Bride of Acacias and Six Silent Men at Chicago Dramatists

By CD Resident Playwright Ezzat Goushegir

Directed by Arti Ishak

Actors:
Maryam Abdi
Alex Attea
Musa Ghaznavi
Jelani Julius
Nate Vangine
Bob Jenkins
Kian Adel 

ABOUT THE PLAY:
Set in 1950s Iran and Europe, a rebellious female poet, seeking freedom and independence, strives to create a sense of self. Six puzzled, silent men, in search of their own identities, observe her as she enacts her life.

MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT:
Ezzat Goushegir is a bilingual playwright, poet, diarist, and fiction writer, whose works have been staged and published internationally, including fourteen books in Farsi. Her plays in English have been translated into different languages and produced by theater companies in the U.S., Europe, China, the Philippines, and received awards. Her latest play “My Name is Inanna” was premiered in China in 2012 and staged by Red Tape Theatre in Chicago in 2021.

MEET THE DIRECTOR:
Arti Ishak (they/them) is an actor, director and writer. Acting credits include theatres like The Second City, Haven, Circle, Writers, American Theater Company. TV: Southside (HBO); Dark Matter (Apple TV); Chicago Med (NBC). Directing credits: Shukran Bas (Means of Productions), ba la (HF Productions), Same Sects (Haven Chicago), Hatefuck (First Floor Theatre). Arti is staff with The Chicago Inclusion Project, an instructor at Black Box Acting & Depaul University. They’re represented by Paonessa Talent Agency www.artiishak.com