STORY

Hook

One day as I was so hungry I noticed the shadow of a fish flopping in my bedroom

by Saeed Tavakkol
15-Jun-2008
First I took my nightly medication with a sip of water just before I went to bed. If I drink more than a sip, I wake up in the middle of the night for a trip to bathroom and a tormenting insomnia afterward is inevitable. So I’ve learned by experience that water at night epitomizes shattered dreams and painful awakening. After I tucked myself in bed and before closing my eyes, I gazed at the image of myself victoriously parading my prized catch dangling from my fishing line wrapped around my hand.>>>

POETRY

The day the Iranian super got robbed
by Sasan Seifikar
15-Jun-2008 (2 comments)
Hello Majid-Agha, what happen here?
Why is the glass on the front door shattered?
Oh, seek shelter in god, we were held up!
It was a young man and he had a gun
He was wearing a mask
He locked us in and took the money and the keys >>>

WRITERS

Getting organized

Iranian-American writers join forces

by Manijeh Nasrabadi
14-Jun-2008 (5 comments)
Over 60 Iranian American writers and members of the community have gathered to launch the Association of Iranian American Writers (AIAW) at a conference hosted by Professors Nasrin Rahimieh (UC Irvine) and Persis Karim (San Jose State University). Held at the University of California at Irvine and sponsored by the Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, the event featured panels on topics ranging from fiction in the post-9/11 world to writing contemporary poetry to innovations in self-representation. With more Iranian Americans writing and publishing in English than ever before, the conference was an opportunity for dialogue about issues that are central to the development of what has become a formidable literary force in the US>>>

IRAN-U.S.

Reality talks

Iran's leadership seeks U.S. negotiations more out of necessity

by Omid Memarian
14-Jun-2008 (2 comments)
Senator Obama, in an effort to move himself from the left to the center of Democratic Party, told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, "I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon - everything." Yet he still maintained that he would like to see the United States "open up lines of communication, build an agenda, coordinate closely with our allies, and evaluate the potential for progress." He clarified his position on discussions with Iran by stating that "as president of the United States, I would be willing to lead tough and principled diplomacy with the appropriate Iranian leader at a time and place of my choosing," with emphasis on "the appropriate Iranian leader.">>>

IRANIANS

10 wrong things

We are infected with an America love/hate disorder

by Farhad Kashani
14-Jun-2008 (29 comments)
They say pride will come before the fall. Excessive pride will blind you to the truth and stops you from advancing. Iranians have a long tradition of worshiping pride. National pride, in specific, although has helped us through some tough times in our history and in many ways ensured the survival of our country and identity, but it appears that we never learned when to stop being proud and start looking at the shortages. So in the hope of breaking this centuries old tradition, I have come up with a list of 10 things that I believe are wrong with the Iranian political and social psyche .Of course a long way in breaking with this tradition, but this is for those whom still have that excessive sense of pride:>>>

TRAVELER

Road to Old Jerusalem, literally

Fluttering Israeli flags began to appear as we approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing

by Mahin Bahrami
14-Jun-2008 (46 comments)
If you live in the Middle East there is only one way to enter the state of Israel, through the Kingdom of Jordan. From Amman, one can either fly directly to Tel Aviv or drive to one of the border crossings between Jordan and the West Bank. As many people in the region already know, the first option is not open to most Middle Easterners including most Palestinians. However, it was open to me and my Palestinian friend from East Jerusalem but we opted to take the latter route, the route that most Palestinians have to endure. Our journey began the next morning following our arrival in Amman, Jordan. We were up at seven a.m. and on our way in a cab to the main taxi and bus station>>>

STORY

The Dog

Hapoo worked hard for a living and became a civilizing influence in the area

by Ari Siletz
14-Jun-2008 (8 comments)
When my father came home, I was already asleep. Usually my mother let me stay up to keep her company, but that night she put me to bed early so I wouldn't botch her little trick on my father. She let him go through the nightly security inspection of the house without telling him about the puppy. I woke up to my father's yelp and a crash. He ran back panting and stumbling, one stuck foot still dragging my tricycle. "Get the pick handle," he stammered. "There's someone in the coal bin." The dog lived in the coal bin at the far end of the yard. There, he was protected from the elements and wasn't close enough to the house to make our residence unclean>>>

STORY

Clichés

They could kiss each other, he thought remembering his dead wife and how soft her skin felt

by Azarin Sadegh
13-Jun-2008 (8 comments)
A man was walking at night. He stopped at the middle of the narrow wooden bridge to gaze at the surface of shining water flowing below his feet. He ignored the inviting melody of the stream. It’s just a dark thought, already written so many times in so many different ways in my precious books, he thought and inhaled the fresh air of night mixed with the stench of the river. He kept on walking and reached the muddy shores. A group of young people were swimming naked far from the coast. The sound of their laughter shivered his back. He sighed and envied their youth. I’ve read this scene in a red book when I was 14, he thought>>>

REBELLION

Biting clerics who feed you

Ahmadinezhad deflects criticism with attacks on clerics

by Mehdi Khalaji
12-Jun-2008 (16 comments)
The widespread speculation that Palizdar's speeches were part of an effort by Ahmadinejad to counter critics of his domestic -- especially economic -- and foreign policies seems to have merit. From this viewpoint, the president's current political goal is to position himself for reelection in May 2009. Since his economic program is exacerbating the problems (e.g., raging inflation) that are the source of so much popular discontent, he may be looking for a way to change the public discourse. Accordingly, he has drawn public attention away from the economic situation by emphasizing financial corruption, blaming "hidden hands" and "mafias" that prevent him from succeeding>>>

OBAMA

Change this

Letter from an Iranian - American who has lived in U.S. for the past 34 years

by Hamid Izadi
12-Jun-2008 (35 comments)
Yes, as you said, Iran does pose a threat to democracy in the region; but how is Iran in building an atomic bomb pose a threat to Israel, with hundreds of atomic bombs and plus being protected by thousands more atomic bombs held by the United States is beyond my comprehension. I guess the United States and Israel need all these atomic bombs and other various weapons of mass destruction and their huge armies of warfare for peace purposes but only Iran needs them to start a war. Your pure ignorance and lack of logic is mind boggling. College degrees and experience in politics will not do one good when common sense has failed them>>>

MEN IN HELL

خانه سازی در جنهم

آخر یک آدم گناهکار جهنمی، اگر قرار است در آتش جهنم بسوزد، این همه خانه را می خواهد به کجای نه بدترش فرو کند؟

by Ali Ohadi
12-Jun-2008 (4 comments)
نوشته است؛ "هر زنی که خود را بیاراید و خوشبو کند و از منزل خارج شود و شوهرش به این کار راضی باشد، خداوند برای هر قدمی که زن بر می دارد، برای شوهرش خانه ای در دوزخ بنا خواهد کرد"! فاعتبروا یا اولی الابصار! اگر مغز دانشمندی که این "حدیث" یا "خبر" یا "نقل قول" را ساخته، به اندازه ی مغز گنجشگ باشد، لابد فکری هم برای خراب کردن این خانه ها در جهنم کرده است! مثلن این که زن یا مرد، چه اعمالی انجام بدهند تا خانه هاشان در جهنم خراب شود، یا خانه ای در بهشت تدارک ببینند. وگرنه سرانجام چنین پروژه ای که "خروجی" هم ندارد، چه می شود؟ گیرم تمام تاریخ را ول کنیم و فقط همین 1400 سال اخیر را بچسبیم، با یک حساب سرانگشتی هم تعداد خانه ها در جهنم سر به خدا می زند.>>>

TANZ

سگ هار
by Parvin Bavafa
12-Jun-2008 (4 comments)

پس می دهم
این تحفه، این توله
این هدیه ی زنده را
که برای نوه ام خریده ام
و مثل سگ پشیمانم
پس می دهم
این توله سگ را

>>>

BAHAIS

از حق بهايی بودن تا بهايی صاحب حق بودن

دفاع از حضور بهائيان در قلمرو عمومی ، پيامد منطقی فتوای آيت الله منتظری است

by Akbar Ganji
11-Jun-2008 (62 comments)
فتوای آيت الله منتظری شجاعانه است، اگر به مکتوبات جريان روشنفکری دينی نگريسته شود. اگر برخوردهای سرکوبگرانه ی رژيم جمهوری اسلامی با بهائيان را بتوان ناديده گرفت، اگر نگاه حوزه های دينی شيعی به بهائيان را بتوان ناديده گرفت، سکوت معنادار بسياری از روشنفکران دينی نسبت به بهائيان را نمی توان ناديده گرفت. روشنفکران دينی در خصوص حقوق بشر بسيار سخن گفته و می گويند.ولی در خصوص يکی از مهمترين موارد نقض حقوق بشر در ايران سکوت اختيار کرده اند. اعتراض به ستم هايی که به بهائيان می شود و دفاع از حقوق اساسی آنها وظيفه ی روشنفکری دينی است. در حاشيه ی فتوای نماد مقاومت و مبارزه و پاکی، به عنوان يک مسلمان شيعه( شيعه ی غير غالی کثرت گرا)، چند نکته را بيان می دارم:>>>

THANK YOU

Mount Helen

Monument to an American's services in Iran

by Davar Iran Ardalan
11-Jun-2008 (9 comments)
Imagine finding out that a nomadic tribe has named a mountain after your grandmother. My mother and I learned just that when a relative phoned to say the storied Bakhtiari tribe had so honored my grandmother, Helen Jeffreys Bakhtiar, to commemorate her public health work there in the 1950s. It's quite a legacy for a woman born in Weiser, Idaho, at the beginning of the 20th century. Located in the central Zagros Mountains of Iran, near the ancient city of Isfahan, the area around Kohe Helen or Helen's Mountain, is home to a wide variety of species>>>

TRAVELER

Hey goodlookin

So here I sit at the bar in the Delta lounge sipping my second glass of wine, filled to the brim

by Siamack
11-Jun-2008 (4 comments)
I was in New York for a reason. I had to meet with a lawyer and I had to speak at a conference. The Market Research Association Conference. Usually I don’t dig the conference circuit. But this year I will have spoken at 4 events. More than I have done in the last 4 years combined. The subject of my talk was an expose of international ethnographic research. Spilling the beans on all of the cock ups, mess ups and screwy clients I had experienced over the years. A side note: I had called V to say I look ‘hot’ walking up 46th Street to the conference Hotel (the Marriott). She had asked if I looked hot and sweaty. I think she is so familiar with my look she has lost all sense of how good looking I have now become.>>>
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