An Eclectic Journal of the Arts
Celebrated poet and activist, Sheema Kalbasi, has brought out a new anthology of Persian poetry. You can sample a few poems from this collection below. * * * * * The Arts know no national boundaries. The Republic of Arts and Letters encompasses the entire world. For too long, those in power across the globe […]
IT’S A MAN’S WORLD TO THE END OF THE END— I am a woman. Simply. To look at me is a sin — I must be veiled. To hear my voice is a temptation that must be hushed. For me to think is a crime so I must not be schooled. I am to […]
We have some new poetry on tap from Sheema Kalbasi, Alessio Zanelli and Tony Jones. Sheema also tipped me off to a very good short film and hopes our readers will view the movie here. The filmmaker in question, Hossein Martin Fazeli, is also a poet. One I hope to publish here soon. __________ […]
Paper Spoon This night holds me so tightly in its palm, as if to never love another, but outside what remains is the inheritance and an unfriendly notice. I fumble through the memories, recalling promises of life, never loving another. Softly, I wait until the lush beginning comes to me. I am pale […]
Two poems from Sheema Kalbasi’s new bilingual anthology of Persian poetry: WITH YOU Your tender revolt Contained by the illicit apple Pounds in red And your eyes’ shattered diamond A woman in seclusion Revolves into a star With you On the surface of water I am thirsty Place the skies in your eyes […]
We have some new poetry, this time from Sheema Kalbasi, an excellent poet I had the pleasure to meet last year at a book festival. There is something unique, exquisite and dreamy in her work, something that informs and amplifies the images of war and peace, tragedy and freedom, family, love and laughter she depicts. […]
Necessity I wear your perfume on my skin Don’t be unkind Like wild flowers shy under the sun Don’t seek the truth, I tell you none exists Everything has an expiration date Love, life, identity, even abnormality. We are travelers, Some of us just leave the suitcase at home So that our hands won’t suffer […]