A stunning view from the shore of Kish Island, Iran. Kish Island is a very popular tourist attraction in Iran. Please see below for more photos.
Dear All,
We have cause for celeberation! I know, it seems strange, but I have my reasons. First, this is the 20th window! We have lasted this long. I don’t know how I have managed but here it is. Perhaps mostly because you have been cheering me on (even though I don’t get to write back thank you notes). Here is a big THANK YOU to you All.
Second, the demand for these windows has been unbelievable. In the past two weeks alone about 100 new subscribers have been added to the listserv. I would like to acknowledge, again, the help I get from
JoAnn Achelpohl in adding new names to the list. Do please continue to forward these messages to others and if you have anything I can share with onlookers, please share with me.
Visual Delights
To celeberate the 20th window, I have a gift for you: a photograph by
a teen age Iranian boy called Shabab Golchin. He took the photo, which
he called “love” in northern Iran for a UNESCO photography
competition. I am sending you the photo, courtesy of my friend Zari
Taheri. By the way, Shabab got the first place in the competition. You
will agree when you see it!
Photo entitled
A series of black and white bleak images from very poor areas of Iran
have been circulating, titled “Modern Iran” wih an exclamation mark.
Yes, those poor areas exist. But so do beautifully designed affluent
places. Take a look at Kish Island in the south. It is now one of the
most popular tourist attractions in Iran. Click here to see some photos
of Kish Island: Kish Island in Southern Iran.
Some young Iranians enjoying themselves at a mall on Kish Island.
A large mall on Kish Island.
Current Issues:
The American public is not ready for a confrontation with Iran. The
hawks in the administarion are feeling the pressure. Article after
article point to the fact that the attempt to demonize Iran – as the
source of American deaths in Iraq – is not working. This theory was
introduced to replace the scenario “Iran, a nuclear threat to the
world” because that was not working either. The conflict no longer
feels inevitable. Americans do not want another war. The war machine
works by presenting the war as inevitable. But that is not what
Americans are saying. Just take a look at the following articles, and
PLEASE circulate. In a democracy like U.S., the will of the people is
the most vibrant source of hope.
Here is the most critical piece concerning the credibility of the US
claim that Iran supplies the Iraqi resurgency with weapons. I share
this piece with you courtesy of my husband Ahmet Karamustafa.
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=67&ItemID=12139
So, we do pull out. What happens? A very interesting article by the
independent journalist Robert Dreyfuss, sent to me by my friend Frank
Flinn, discusses the various scenarios of an Iraq after an American
pull out and argues that the fear of a disaster in the absence of US
is not justified :
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0703.dreyfuss.html
For an interesting discussion of the debates about the nuclear issue
in Iran, click here: Internal Iranian debate over nuclear issue.
Many specialists think that there is room for peaceful exchange with
Iran. The leading IR theorist Fukuyama is among them. He proposes
Serious Iran Diplomatic Incentives.
http://niacouncil.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=676&Itemid=2
The American poeple’s skepticism is not misplaced. Despite the
administrations insistence that things are different this time, the
exact same line of thought is being pursued. Watch for yourself:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=4d4e62654f
Forough Farrokhzad (1935-1967)
Forough Farrokhzad
It is a long time since we have had the time to open these windows on Persian literary and artistic figures. Last week, however, was a very special time. On February 13, many Iranians commemorated the 40th anniversary of the death of Forough Farroukhzad, one of the most vibrant, contraversial, and loved poets of contemporary Iran. Farrokhzad wrote with courage about herself as a woman, but her work did more than fight for gender issues. It gave Iran some of its most lyrical and complex poetry in recent times. In addition to composing poetry, Farrokhzad tried her talent at writing film scripts, directing, and making documentaries. On February 13, 1967 she died in a car accident. Iranians refer to her affectionately as javdaneh Forough “The Eternal Forough.” Her collections of poems sell thousands (her last collection called Another Birth has been translated into
English). I wish I had the time to gift you a translation of one of her long poems. As it is, we have to make do with an excerpt. I attach a stanza from a beautifully crafted poem called “Let us have faith in
the beginning of the cold season.” Please click here: Forough Farrokhzad “Let us haveFaith in the Beginning of the Cold Season”.
I wish you all a great week.
Fatemeh
===================================
Fatemeh Keshavarz, Professor and Chair
Dept. of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures
Washington University in St. Louis
Tel: (314) 935-5156
Fax: (314) 935-4399
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Windows on Iran 