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Baba Taher
Poetry

The males are pregnant
The poetry of Katayoon Zandvakili
From the back cover of Katayoon Zandvakili's
Deer
Table Legs (University of Georgia Press, 1998):
Few first books of the last decade have attempted such a delicate challenge
as this one. A subtle variation on Romeo and Juliet, Deer
Table legs is multicultural in the widest, most generous use of
that term. Sometimes locating her poems in the Iran of her birth, Katayoon
Zandvakili tells more than one kind of love story in narrative filled with
irony and tenderness. In "the Boy & the Girl," the face of
the beloved is "the kind of face that sits by the fireplace, / listens
into the night, wears the sleeve of years." But in "Jerkfish,"
"Your face came into mine / with the brilliance of teeth, loud water
promises." With titles as enigmatic and illusive as those of Wallace
Stevens, these poems verge on the dreamlike but hold always to a dramatic
clarity.... FULL TEXT
Outlook
Will Germany Help?
Hamburg Bild
13 November 98
First southeast Asia and Russia -- and now Iran is facing bankruptcy.
As the Wall Street Journal reported, the country quickly needs $3
billion to meet its liabilities. France has already provided $1.45 billion.
The mullah regime is holding secret talks Japan, Italy -- and Germany.
This matter is extremely delicate because it is threatening to lead to
diplomatic complications. Iran is considered the arch enemy of the United
States, our most important ally. The reason for the financial crisis: the
decline of the oil price to $11 per barrel. Oil accounts for 80 percent
of Iran's public revenue. The country had based its budget calculations
on a price of $16.
No more
From a friend:
I am back in California. My father died last week -- unexpectedly. He
died five hours before I could get here.
More Letters
* Love will re-emerge, in time
Nargess Shahmanesh writes: The language you use in "Marrying
an Iranian woman" is truly beautiful; "love floating in a
nation that has been so unfortunate, nothing but a divine gift."...
In many ways Iran has become a hard nation, its inhabitants sharp,
tough, often ruthless (zebr-o-zerang) ... they are survivors. All this
is completely essential (or natural) given our recent history. In this
new world, the love you talk about, the innocent love is still part of
the soul of Iran, but it has changed shape, hiding behind a mask. Through
time, when the country is relaxed politically and economically, maybe
the old love will re-emerge... FULL
TEXT
* Mohammad can't become a "real" American
Ocmike1 writes: I read "How
to become an American." It's truly clever and thought-provoking.
As an Iranian who grew up in the U.S. and joined the military to constantly
prove my love for America, I've learned that no matter how long you live
in this country or how much you have done for it -- as long as people know
you were born in Iran and your real name is Mohammad -- you will never
be a "real" American.
God bless Iran and Iranians
* Politics: Payman in Los Angeles
Dr. Habibollah Peyman is giving a talk at University of California,
Los Angeles, (UCLA), Dodd Hall 147, on Saturday Nov. 21 from 5-10 pm.
Subject: The current intellectual trend in teh Islamic Republic of Iran
Book of the Week

Deer Table Legs
Poems by Katayoon Zandvakili
The University of Georgia Press, 1998
Zandvakili lives in Piedmont, California, and writes for
Publishers Weekly. Her poems have appeared in The Massachusetts
Review, Five Fingers Review, Hawai'i Review, and the anthology
A World Betwee: Poems, Short Stories, and Essays by Iranian-Americans.
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Iran rebuked on executions, religious intolerance
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. panel adopted
a resolution Wednesday rebuking Iran for executions without due process
of law and for discrimination against women and religious minorities such
as the Baha'is. The resolution was approved by the General Assembly's social,
humanitarian and cultural committee by a vote of 63 to 35 with 60 abstentions.
A vote by the committee, which includes all U.N. members, is tantamount
to formal adoption by the General Assembly, which last year adopted a similar
resolution by 74 to 32 ... FULL TEXT
Iran condemns UN rights resolution for
"ignoring reality"
TEHRAN,
Nov 19 (AFP)-Iran on Thursday denounced a UN resolution welcoming moves
towards openness by the Islamic republic's government but expressed concern
about continuing threats against Salman Rushdie. "The resolution is
a political move targeting political interests above human rights considerations,"
said Mostafa Alai, Iran's ambassador at the United Nations ... FULL TEXT
Egypt will improve ties with Iran - FM
Tehran, (HAMSHAHRI) - Egypt will continue to normalize
relations with Iran despite U.S. objections, said the Egyptian foreign minister
to a group of visiting Iranian journalists FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
U.S. oil firms again frozen out of big
Iran business
WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - American oil
companies will again have to sit on the sidelines while foreign competitors
bid for Iranian business this month, locked out by unilateral sanctions
imposed by the U.S. government. Though American companies need not apply,
Iran has set a Nov. 30 deadline for the rest of the world to bid on 29 oil
and natural gas projects worth several billion dollars... FULL TEXT
Iran welcomes "change" in U.S.
oil policy
London, Nov. 19, IRNA - iran's deputy oil minister for international
affairs mehdi husseini wednesday welcomed u.s energy secretary bill richrdson's
commitment for the free flow of oil across international borders as a positive
signal. "if true, it represents a change in policy," he said.
iran is "happy" to hear that the u.s. supports the non-interruption
of oil supplies, devoid from all political impediments, he told an international
oil confrence in london... FULL TEXT
New military service buy-out plan
Tehran, (HAMSHAHRI) - New regulations allowing young
adults to buy out their military service requirements have gone into effect
... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
Lari: Government determined to hold council
elections
Tehran, Nov. 19, IRNA - interior minister, hojatoleslam
abdolvahed mousavi lari, wednesday evening underlined importance of the
elections for city and village councils and described it a key social issue...
FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
London film fest award for young Makhmalbaf
Tehran, (HAMSHAHRI) - An international film festival
in London has given the best film award to Samira Makhmalbaf for her first
film, "Seeb" ("The Apple")... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN

Azizi and Abdezadeh may join team
Tehran, (HAMSHAHRI) - In the ongoing Iranian national
team soap opera, it now seems Khodadad Azizi and Ahmadreza Abedzadeh will
NOT be left out of the team ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
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Quote Unquote
The men I met
The men I met fell from the tops of sentences. They promised hot-air
balloon rides, would've stolen sheep. On the way up the mountain they held
silent. (Silence is power, the book said.)
Katayoon Zandvakili
"Deer
Table Legs"
The Iranian
November 19, 1998
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Farid
Farjad
Classic Iranian tunes played witgh a violin. Beautiful!
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