Arts and Literature

The quiet side of Pop

I discovered Barzin a few months ago when I was browsing the Internet. Barzin was supposed to open for Kiosk in Toronto and yet, I had never heard of him. I quickly Googled his name and found his web site. Lucky me, I found a few full-length mp3 files from his music there to listern to. I think the first few notes did it for me. I was rather surprised at the fact that an Iranian act would create music in the same style as bands such as Wilco, Mazzy Star, or even Radiohead. The next thing that surprised me was his smooth Canadian/American/English accent, to the point that I first had doubts about him being Iranian>>>

Red lines

Currently, over 65% of students entering university in Iran are women and slowly, these women will become a strong force that will make their dissatisfaction with the inequalities in law, society and the family known. Iranian women have not achieved this success easily and this representation is not secure. The current government has planned to reduce the number of women entering universities and has set up obstacles making it more difficult for women to achieve this goal. After the revolution, women who played an important role in the Revolution with the aim of reversing discriminatory laws against women were shocked to find that these laws not only remained intact, but that the human rights that women had achieved before the revolution were also eroded>>>

شب سده!

کدام سده
از حافظه ی کيهانی من گذشته ای
که اسم شب را نمی دانم
و ميان مهربانی و آتش سرگردانم؟
در کدام جاده ی کهکشان
نوازشم کرده ای
که تا ابد در عطر ستاره غوطه می خورم؟ >>>

Slimming with Siamack (2)

...>>>

The Virus of the Conscience

From not remembering when
To not noticing how
My brain is being infected
With viruses just like a computer.
But a computer has no soul
Suffer no scars >>>

Palestine does exist

It is not just the US politicians who are complicit with the State of Israel’s violence against the Palestinians. Sadly, those of us who read and contribute to Iranian.com and are often so opinionated on every matter and feel so compelled to write about everything that happens in the world, have been complicit with this violence by being silent about the recent Palestinian situation. Unfortunately, I think many of us have tuned Palestine out and frankly the Arab-hating sentiments that have filled our national imaginations do not let us see the pain and hear the voices of Palestinians who are being killed violently by the Israeli tanks or die softly behind the Israeli walls. We refuse to notice as we go on with our comfortable lives, pretending that Palestine does not exist.>>>

عكس فوري عشقبازي

همه چیز از باسن بزرگ من شروع شد!
و طعنه باد به در
و عکس سینه بند صورتی
که افتاده بود در آبگون نگاه تو.
تختِ آشفته
ملافه واژگون
و عشقبازی نا تمام باران و برگ.
>>>

Massacre of Colours

The red was accused of passion
The pink was told it lacked any sense of ration
The yellow had no self-respect and was cautioned
The purple, the poor, shameless purple was condemned to lashes
The colours screamed, pondered their claims
Asked for mercy, and bargained for a plea >>>

Memories

...>>>

Brightest star

I mourn his loss. There are some people who believe an actor's death should not be front-page news when there are soldiers and civilians who are dying in faraway lands for greater causes. I don't know a single soldier or a single dead civilian. I do know a lot about war. I've read about it. I've written twenty page papers on the roots and causes of international conflict, the reasons for genocide and ethnic violence, the clash of civilizations. Reading and writing about something isn't as real as mourning the loss of something you know>>>

Effortless energy

The truth is I was a bit nervous at first. After all, it is not often that I have the chance to meet a total stranger whose voice has become a part of my every day routine. Odd as it may seem, this one dimensional nature of fame is an inevitable reality for all successful artists including the one I was about to interview. Adapting to increased recognition and celebrity is an adjustment that Arash Sobhani will most likely have to make in the upcoming years because both he and his band Kiosk have gained significant popularity and recognition recently across the US, Europe and Iran and show no signs of slowing down>>>

عمو ناصر!

من همه ماجرای عشقی تو و شهلا را به خوبی می دانم. ناصر! یادت می آید خانه ی شهلا در خیابان ظفر؟ همان جایی که پستان های داغ و هیکل خوش فرم شهلا را به دهان می گرفتی؟ همان جایی که شهلا بساط تریاک کشی ترا آماده می کرد؟ راستی در همه جای خانه با شهلا عشق بازی کردی و به قول خودت چه سکسی هم داشت. آخر می دانی اگر شهلا سکسش خوب بود به خاطر این بود که با تمام وجودش ترا دوست داشت گرچه می دانست همسری داری و شاید به قول خودش هوویی! شما دو نفر سالها با هم دوست بودید. نمی دانم شاید هم زن شرعی ات شده بود نمی دانم! >>>

I'd give anything to be Bush

How many millions are spent each day on Iraq

How many billions are spent each month

Who is the president kidding when he says

we can't afford to expand health care for children >>>

Thirty Birds

This poem was revealed to me. Let us not argue from whence, whether from the sub- or super-consciousness, and simply accept that, as with the Leila poem, I had no conscious choice or will in its making, only in the editing. It revealed itself with Attar's journey as the central metaphor, but it also revealed the presence of Ahriman/Angra Manyu, Ahura Mazda's opponent. I envisioned him somehow very strongly as Khomeini engaged in a battle with the "songgirl", Forough, for the soul of Iran and the world>>>

هیچ یک با هم

دختر
ایرانی بود یا می‌نمود

با چشمانش
که میان ابر اخم
و شبنم یک لبخند
به نزدیکتر زآنچه می‌دید
و دورتر زآنچه در خیالش بود
می‌نگریست >>>

A Hero born of a hero

It was the noon of January 8, 2008. A large crowd was waiting for Bilawal Bhutto Zardini's speech. He is the son of the famous Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minster of Pakistan who was assassinated two days ago in a mysterious event. Now, Bilawal, a 19-year-old history student of Oxford University was the chairmen of the Pakistan's People Party, the greatest secular party of the nation, although he did not like political jobs. There is a high risk for a terrorist action during or after today's event. For a teenager it seemed so soon to worry about death, but it was the reality of life for Pakistan's new sudden hero>>>