Have you ever thought about why different people treat you differently? Why we like some people and dislike others while some of the people we

Somewhere across the oceans a man is dying to give other men’s lives a glimpse of hope. His silent scream echoes over the mountains his

Before sending me tons of e-mail to accuse me of being a “copy cat”, allow me to refer to the last paragraph of my article

My day begins with a rollover of yesterday’s “to do” list. When grocery is done, dinner is half made, my son’s dental appointment is behind

I guess one could say that I am more of a reader than a writer. No doubt, there’s much more in this world to read

You can tell a lot about a nation and their culture by their stories, legends, and the proverbs they use in their daily conversations. Among

If God loves me I may die in my sleep: an OnTime departure with no baggage to check no security line not even an e-ticket there will be no

My editor called and asked if I could stay with the retrospective voice throughout the new novel. Unsure of how retrospective she wanted the voice

Like most people who live in California, I had no idea what the acronym CCH stood for. When Iranian.com — an online Persian magazine for

People’s sensitivity about age has always fascinated me. Would I dare ask how old you are? Certainly not, at least, not unless you’re under thirty.

I look forward to meeting an old friend whom I have not seen in years. None of my new friends know my hometown or my

As I put away the items that are only used once a year for the Persian New Year, I think of my culture and wonder

In response to my article titled “Namiri”, a reader wrote back to ask if I would write about the Persian Ta’arof. Unfortunately, due to a

One of the most valuable lessons I learned in creative writing, concerns the difference between critique and criticism. Although in Persian we do have the

I may never figure out what makes someone decide to become a writer. Why would anyone choose to isolate themselves and keep no other company

Recently, I came across two diverse articles in the Iranian, one by Pesar Gol [“Hossein hocus pocus”] and the other a response by Sanaz [“Your

Among the many political articles, I come across a short piece someone has written about what he remembers of life in Iran [See: “Once upon

Indeed, whence in spring do so many colorful designs appear? No one knows. Wisdom is mystified that out of the dark dirt a pure and

Peculiarities in a culture seem to go unnoticed by its people until they are pointed out by others. I remember twenty-some years ago, an American

Once again, time has come to prune the roses. Throughout summer, my neighbors and friends have admired the lovely little cluster of rose bushes they

When my children were small, any time they fought over a toy, I told them that were how all wars started and how they'd have

I have never forgiven Bernard Shaw for saying, “Girls are either beautiful, or go to the university.” Not only did he make the teenage me

I wake up in the early morning hours and sit at my computer. Someone has sent me shocking news: First Iranian-American soldier killed in Iraq.

Mashad had the most melancholic fall season. Not only did the sound of Azan echo from every minaret, each year there seemed to be more