| From left: Solmaz Sharif, Taha Ebrahimi, Manijeh Nasrabadi, Javad Mohsenian and Said Sayrafeizadeh at the Asian American Writers' Workshop, NYC - April 17, 2009 |
June 22, 2009
As writers of Iranian descent living in the United States, we are deeply moved by the courage and conviction of millions of our fellow Iranians who are demanding transparency and legitimacy in their elections. We offer this message of solidarity to the demonstrators and their supporters in Iran: the whole world is watching.
We do not see the struggle of the Iranian people as an embrace of “American values,” as many in the US media and political establishment have claimed, but rather as the latest manifestation of an indigenous struggle for democracy, greater political and social freedom, and ultimately, for self-determination. We vehemently condemn the brutality unleashed against protesters in Iran, even while we recognize the US government’s historic and current role in unleashing violence and thwarting democracy across the Middle East.
When we say the whole world is watching, we speak of a world of common people, sister citizens in sister nations around the globe, with similar aspirations and demands.
As Iranian American writers, we are often called upon to explain Iran to Americans and we strive to undermine stereotypes and offer nuanced representations of Iranian identities, histories and cultures in our work. Now, in the streets of Iran, people from all walks of life, across generations, in every region of the country are speaking for themselves with a creativity, resilience and determination that serve as an inspiration to us all.
We send our message of solidarity and hope for the people of Iran, mourn the loss of life at the hands of security forces and condemn all efforts by the Iranian government to block web sites and disrupt other forms of communication by Iranians. As writers of conscience, we feel it is our duty to defend the right to freedom of expression inside and outside of Iran.
Persis M. Karim - Founder and Co-Director
Manijeh Nasrabadi - Co-Director
Nazy Kaviani
Shirindokht Nourmanesh
This statement does not necessarily reflect the views of all AIAW members.
Since its founding in May 2008 at a conference at UC-Irvine, the Association of Iranian American Writers (AIAW) has been making a name for itself among established and emerging Iranian American writers, as well as in broader literary circles. With active chapters in Northern California and in New York City, and through our web site, AIAW has been developing communities of writers and creating vehicles for Iranian American literature to reach diverse audiences.
Our web site has featured several AIAW members’ writing from across the genres. Members are starting to use the events/calendar pages to get the word out about readings, and we’ve launched the Critical Issues page with an article by Jasmin Darznik on Iranian women’s memoir. Our hope is that members will use the blog to bounce ideas off of one another and deepen the discussion around various aspects of Iranian American literature. The opportunities page is also taking on life as the AIAW name gets around and editors send in their calls for submissions.
AIAW was mentioned in
Hyphen Magazine and
TehranBureau.com, both of which published an article on second generation Iranian American writers that features several AIAW members.
East Coast Report
In New York City, AIAW and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop have set up a partnership to co-sponsor fall and spring readings. So far, this series has drawn standing-room only crowds and featured Porochista Khakpour, Roger Sedarat, Aphrodite Desiree Navab, Manijeh Nasrabadi, Javad Mohsenian, Taha Ebrahimi, Solmaz Sharif and Saïd Sayrafiezadeh.
AIAW is also continuing a workshop initiative co-sponsored by ArteEast for writers of Middle Eastern heritage. This is part of our commitment to support and help develop new writing talent. Last fall, Manijeh Nasrabadi taught a memoir workshop and this fall Solmaz Sharif will teach a poetry workshop. Visit
arteeast.org for details.
Also this fall, AIAW and the Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center?(MEMEAC) at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York will co-sponsor an evening titled
30 Years of Iranian American Literature: Reflections and Discoveries featuring Nahid Rachlin, Persis M. Karim, Roger Sedarat and Manijeh Nasrabadi. This event will be held on September 17 from 6:30–8:30 at CUNY Grad (5th Ave and 34th Street).
The New York City chapter of AIAW is on the verge of launching a writers’ group this summer for members who want to share and discuss their work in depth. Interested members should contact Manijeh for details.
West Coast Report
California, the birthplace of AIAW, continues to cultivate new energy and enthusiasm for this organization and for writing by our members in general. Since the creation of AIAW a year ago, a small but dedicated cadre of writers has met monthly (Sunday brunch) to share writing, discuss publishing, writing issues, and brainstorm ideas about the organization. We’ve enjoyed the camaraderie, intellectual rapport, and the nurturing and supportive climate for our writing.
The California AIAW group has hosted a number of events and activities in addition to our regular gatherings. These include hosting readings/gatherings for two Arab-American poets, Hayan Charara, author of
The Sadness of Others (Carnegie Mellon 2007), and the much-acclaimed anthology,
Inclined to Speak: An Anthology of Arab-American Poetry (University of Arkansas, 2007), and Fady Joudah, Yale Younger Poets Prize Winner for 2008 and author of
The Earth in the Attic (Yale University Press, 2008). As part of our mission, AIAW is interested in supporting and promoting the work of authors of Arab and Afghan heritage and working to promote a dialogue between writers and cultures of the Middle East.
AIAW was also a sponsoring and participating member in the Iranian Alliances Across Borders (IAAB) biennial conference at UC Berkeley. Members of AIAW stationed a table at the two-day conference and mingled with conference participants from around the world. AIAW member Jasmin Darznik spoke on a panel called
Negotiating Identity: Exploring Cultural Production -
click here to read her talk. It was an exciting conference at which we made our debut, and it yielded some important connections, energy, and enthusiasm. Manijeh Nasrabadi, co-director of AIAW, and organizer-extraordinaire, remained on the West Coast for several days and helped organize a meeting with our local group.
As part of our collaborative mission, AIAW co-sponsored a small one-day conference on April 18, 2009--
“Iranian American Writers in Dialogue” with writers Salar Abdoh (
Opium, The Poet Game), Farnoosh Moshiri (
The Bathhouse, Against Gravity), Nahid Rachlin (
Persian Girls, Jumping Over Fire) and Persis Karim (
A World Between, Let Me Tell You Where I’ve Been ed.) at the University of California, Los Angeles. These writers discussed the influences on their work, the events of their own biographies, the challenges of representing some of the more painful aspects of their migration to the United States, and the ways in which they see writing by Iranian American writers in a larger world literature context. The event was hosted by the Gustav von Grunenbaum Center for Middle Eastern Studies at UCLA and featured the above-mentioned writers in conversation. The event drew a sizeable audience and fostered smart, intelligent conversation with these novelists and poet. The conference was co-sponsored by the Farhang Foundation, the Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture at UC Irvine, and AIAW.
AIAW continues to attract new members and is looking for opportunities to showcase the work of its members and to collaborate with other organizations. As of June, 2009, we officially have 46 members, and hope that those who joined in its inception in May 2008, will continue their membership. Dues are modest and go to supporting our webmaster, John Sweden, based in New Zealand, and to supporting the organizations advertising, and co-sponsorship of events.
AIAW now has an official advisory board made up of Persis Karim, Manijeh Nasrabadi, Roger Sedarat, Nazy Kaviani, Parissa Ebrahimzadeh, Aphrodite Desiree Navab, Taha Ebrahimi and Massud Alemi. This should help us coordinate a new set of projects for the year to come. Our goals include launching a writing contest in conjunction with a literary magazine, organizing readings with Arab American and Central/South Asian American writers and planning a conference for 2010 at UC-Berkeley.
We want to make AIAW responsive to members’ needs and ideas so please feel free to email Persis and/or Manijeh with your thoughts.
Thanks to all of you for making this exciting first year possible. We look forward to continuing to develop AIAW into a reputable and sought after literary resource for writers and readers.
Two very different readings...
Two very different readings in the NYC-area showed the vital role of Iranian American literature in inspiring and educating diverse audiences. On Friday, April 17, AIAW and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop (AAWW) held our second co-sponsored event,
New Stories from Iranians in America, with poet
Solmaz Sharif, memoirists
Taha Ebrahimi,
Said Sayrafeizadeh and novelist
Javad Mohsenian.
Sharif’s work engaged with themes from the “war on terror", Ebrahimi shared her experiences living with Iranian Sufis in London, Mohsenian read from his novel set in 1950s Iran and Sayrafeizadeh read from his highly acclaimed debut,
When Skateboards Will Be Free: A Memoir of a Political Childhood.
The standing-room only crowd turned out to include several other children of Iranian leftists, other Iranian American artists of various stripes, as well as East and South Asian supporters and non-Asian literary fans. AIAW and AAWW plan to host regular fall and spring readings going forward.
And on the other side of the Hudson River...
The following evening, over on the other side of the Hudson River in suburban New Jersey, AIAW members
Roger Sedarat and
Manijeh Nasrabadi, along with Egyptian Jewish memoirist and poet
Joyce Zonana, were invited to read at reform synagogue
Bnai Keshet.
The event, titled
Recognizing the Other: The Mysteries of Iran, Egypt, and Memory, drew a mostly Ashenazi Jewish crowd. Many audience members spoke about how much they learned from each writer’s experience traversing multiple identities and national/political histories.
The warm reception and open-minded atmosphere was encouraging given the way the mainstream American Jewish population and people of Middle Eastern descent are often pitted against each other. Opportunities for future events that bring these communities together are under discussion.
Manijeh Nasrabadi
Please submit your ideas to Manijeh or Persis:
(
manijeh_nasrabadi@yahoo.com or
persisk@yahoo.com),
Jasmin Darznik: “Writing Ourselves into American Letters” - A talk given at the Iranian Alliances Across Borders’ Fourth Annual International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora U.C. Berkeley, April 2009...
