World Refugee Day — What We Owe Each Other
World Refugee Day is the first of seven days during which refugees will be recognized in events across the world.
Iran
Abū Ḥamza’s Bread
In which Philip Grant muses on Ibn Sayyār al-Warrāq’s tenth century cookbook, "Kitāb aṭ-Ṭabīkh" and cooking and baking 12 centuries later.
Not Just Any Rice: Persian Kateh over Chelo
Maryam Mortaz, in a translation by Salar Abdoh, remembers the favored rice of her Iranian childhood.
Three Love Poems by Rumi, Translated by Haleh Liza Gafori
Iranian American poet and translator Haleh Liza Gafori presents a new volume of Rumi translations in "GOLD" published by NYRB Classics.
Getting to the Other Side: a Kurdish Migrant Story
Iason Athanasiadis paints the portrait of Bahoz, a stateless Kurd who will keep fighting to become accepted for asylum in Europe.
Refugees of Afghanistan in Iran: a Photo Essay by Peyman Hooshmandzadeh
In Iran, Afghan refugees have been a part our everyday lives for over four decades now.
Meditations on “The Ungrateful Refugee”
Rana Asfour shares her thoughts on the widely-celebrated book from Dina Nayeri, who writes that escaping and becoming a refugee preoccupied her life for more than 20 years.
Hasteem, We Are Here: The Collective for Black Iranians
Twelve Gates Arts and the Collective for Black Iranians are hosting “Hasteem: We Are Here” from September 3–24, 2021. Maryam Sophia Jahanbin Content warning: enslavement, land and labor acknowledgement. Consistent… Continue reading Hasteem, We Are Here: The Collective for Black Iranians
Why Resistance Is Foundational to Kurdish Literature
Ava Homa how statelessness, trauma and political exile shaped her novel Daughters of Smoke and Fire Coming of age as a Kurdish girl in Iran, I learned early on that… Continue reading Why Resistance Is Foundational to Kurdish Literature
The Harrowing Life of Kurdish Freedom Activist Kobra Banehi
Excerpted from the anthology Kurdish Women’s Stories (Pluto Press, 2020), by special arrangement with editor Houzan Mahmoud. The Prison Speakers Played Islamic Verses Kobra Banehi Kobra Banehi, also known… Continue reading The Harrowing Life of Kurdish Freedom Activist Kobra Banehi
Women Comic Artists, from Afghanistan to Morocco
Anthropologist and comix author Sherine Hamdy provides a brief overview of new and recent Arab & Middle Eastern women’s political cartooning.
The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter
Maryam Zar reviews the new biography from Kai Bird, examining the one-term president who went on to change the world.
The Murals of “Education is Not a Crime”
Saleem Vaillancourt describes the worldwide mural campaign spearheaded by Maziar Bahari on behalf the Baha'i community to speak out about Iran's persecution of its largest religious minority.
The Crash, Covid-19 and Other Iranian Stories
Malu Halasa reviews the new graphic novel by former political prisoner and editorial cartoonist Mana Neyestani, released in 2021 by IranWire.com.
The Revolution Sees its Shadow 10 Years Later
Mischa Geracoulis remembers Zahra's Paradise along with the Arab awakenings, George Floyd, Covid-19 and Groundhog Day.