Over eighty attendees braved the rain and squeezed into tight quarters for A New Day: Readings by Afghan and Iranian American Writers on Friday, March 12th at the Asian American Writers Workshop. The reading was held in honor of Nowruz and was co-hosted by Zohra Saed, co-director of the Association of Afghan American Writers and Manijeh Nasrabadi, co-director of the Association of Iranian American Writers.

Ken Chen, director of the Asian American Writers Workshop opened the reading by welcoming attendees and discussing future events. Ken said his goal as director has been to be as ambitious and inclusive as possible when defining the terms Asian and American.

Nasrabadi, who introduced the first reader, spoke about the importance of collapsing the borders between Iranian and Afghan Americans. She said collaboration between the two organizations has long been in the works, in large part because of all the new writing that has recently come out of both communities.

Saed explained the haft-seen for those who were not familiar with Nowruz traditions and spoke about the political implications of celebrating Nowruz and recognizing the broad range of Central and South Asian cultures that share the same traditions.

Five writers read in total. Aphrodite Desiree Navab, who kicked off the reading with an excerpt from her novel, Call Her Anar. Naheed Elyasi read from her story Living on Prayer which is included in the forthcoming Anthology of Contemporary Afghan American Literature co-edited by Zohra Saed and Sahar Muradi. Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet read from her forthcoming novel Martyrdom Street, Sahar Muradi read several short memoir pieces and Dalia Sofer read from her novel Septembers of Shiraz.

The evening was also a fundraiser for the Committee to Protect Journalists and $160 was collected to support work in Iran and Afghanistan. A Q&A session followed the reading, during which the writers discussed some of the challenges of writing in diaspora and negotiating issues of gender and culture in their work. The large turnout at the reading is indicative of the wealth of public support and enthusiasm for the great fiction and nonfiction coming out of these two communities.

Alexander Book Co. is pleased to announce a special event on Tuesday, March 23rd at 12:30 pm.

Author Elizabeth Eslami will read from her new novel, Bone Worship, just published in paperback by Pegasus Books.

A stunning debut from Iranian-American author Elizabeth Eslami, Bone Worship dares to explore the perilous intersection of familial and cultural mysteries, balancing the pull of tradition, the promise of the future, and all the possibilities in between.

In this novel about a young woman striving to understand her father and her own mysterious heritage, Eslami tackles what it means to be a mixed race woman bearing the weight of romantic and familial expectations, from the rural American South to metropolitan Iran. American born Jasmine Fahroodhi struggles to connect with her Iranian father while also trying to find herself, all with the possibility of an arranged marriage looming in the background.

Bone Worship is a bracing take on a cultural coming-of-age story, and Eslami’s voice, at once witty and poignant, is unforgettable.

Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Time: 12:30pm - 1:30 pm
Where: Alexander Book Company, 50 Second St, San Francisco, CA - MAP
More info at: www.alexanderbook.indiebound.com

Keep this date free and join us for a panel discussion about emerging Asian American women writers. On the panel are Anita Amirrezvani (left), Kathryn Ma, Barbara Jane Reyes and Shawna Yang Ryan. Moderated by Marianne Villanueva.

Two novelists, a short story writer and a poet discuss what influences and inspires their writing and how they negotiate their identity as writers. In her novel The Blood of Flowers Anita Amirrezvani skillfully interweaves culture, romance and art. Kathryn Ma’s story collection All That Work and Still No Boys won the Iowa Short Fiction Award. For Poeta en San Francisco, Barbara Jane Reyes received the James Laughlin Award of the Academy of American Poets. Shawna Yang Ryan’s first novel, Water Ghosts, is a haunted portrait of a Sacramento River town. Marianne Villanueva, whose most recent story collection is Mayor of the Roses, is also the co-editor of Going Home to A Landscape: Writings by Filipinas.

Presented by:
:: University of San Francisco MFA in Writing Program
:: Asian-American Studies Program Cosponsored by the Center for the Pacific Rim and Asia Society, Northern California

Date: Thursday, April 22, 2010
Time: 7:30 PM- 9 PM
Where: Xavier Room in Fromm Hall (corner of Parker and Golden Gate), USF campus. MAP

The Washington Square Review is the literary journal of the MFA program at New York University. Washington Square have an ongoing goal of seeking out international writing and presenting it in translation. This Sprin they will produce a themed issue called Borderlands, focused on the writing of exiled writers. They seek poetry, fiction, and nonfiction contributions.

They also seek artists in exile who are interested in collaborating in a related event in New York City this Spring, which will include readings from the issue as well as other performances.

Submissions or inquiries: anissa.bazari@gmail.com or washingtonsquare.international@gmail.com
Submissions must be previously unpublished
Deadline: Submissions must be in by March 1, 2010.
More information: www.washingtonsquarereview.com

Contribute your Poems and Stories about the disaster in Haiti to the Exiled Ink Forum pages:

Go to: www.exiledwriters.co.uk
Click on: Send us your poems and stories
Click on: New topic
Put in subject and what you want to write
Press Submit
Note: You will need to register to contribute to the forum

Rooftops of Tehran was voted in the Outstanding Debut category for Fall-Winter 2009-2010 by Indie Booksellers nationwide, and was selected as an Indie Next Notable for the month of June and a Bookreporter Bets On in May.

San Francisco Chronicle chose Rooftops of Tehran as one of its top 50 books in the Bay Area in December.

Rooftops is Villanova University's One Book selection for 2009-2010. Mahbod was on campus on January 26th for a lecture event. He was also on NPR for an interview on “Radio Times with Marty Moss- Coane” at 11:00 am on January 25, and rebroadcast on Sirius Radio later the same day.

Rooftops is Broward College's Rites of Spring 2010 selection. Mahbod will be on their campus on March 30th and 31st.

More info here: www.rooftopsoftehran.com

Callaloo, the journal of arts and letters of the African Diaspora, has just released a special issue (Volume 32, Number 4) of Middle Eastern and North African writers guest-edited by AIAW member Salar Abdoh (On the Way to the Wind: Contemporary Writing from the Middle East and North Africa) and Percival Everett.

AIAW members Sholeh Wolpé (Of Leaving), Persis Karim (Ways to Count the Dead) and Manijeh Nasrabadi (A Far Corner of the Revolution) are among the many established and emerging writers featured in this diverse collection, which includes voices from across the region and throughout the diaspora. Check it out online at:
www.muse.jhu.edu or at your local library.

New innovative magazine reflecting exciting, different voices in a new cultural environment. Content features literature, discussion and commentary. Exiled Ink is unique in providing an insight into dislocation and cultures of exile, both through the voices of exiled writers and through their literary work.

CONTENTS

Conflict Zones - Sri Lanka
Poetry: R. Cheran, Thirumavalavan, Sivamohan Sumathy
Prose: Rohini Hensman
Articles: Sri Lankan Tamil Poetry - Rohini Hensman, Historical Background - Lakshmi Holmstrom

Iran
Poetry: Sholeh Wolpé, Esther Kamkar (Animals that We Are), Majid Naficy, Afshin Babzadeh, Reza Hiwa
Articles: Last Straw for Iranians - Fariba Marzban, Haleh Esfandiari - Claire Messud

Syria (Kurdish)
Poetry: Hussein Habash

Chechyna
Poetry: Mikhail Isin Eldin
Article: Apti Bisultanov - Sieglinde Geisel
Short Story: Tamara Islamova

Bosnia
Theatre Production and Script excerpts
Exiled Writers Ink National Mentoring and Translation Project
Poetry and Prose

Latin American Exile
Prose: Marta Raquel Zabelata Hinrichsen/ Alfredo Cordal
Poetry: Gisela Jachniuk

Exiled from Israel
Poetry: Haim Bresheeth

Writing Africa
Short Story: Fiston Mwanza
Poetry: Kiluanji Kush
Article: Caine Prize: Nisha Jones

Reviews
Anthology of Somali Literature - review: Stephen Watts
Leaving Tangiers by Tahar Ben Jelloun - review: Albert Pellicer
Rooftops of Tehran by Sholeh Wolpe - review: Jeremy Edward Shiok
Like Myth and Mother by S. Sumathy - review: Lynette Craig

Contact Info and Website: www.exiledwriters.co.uk

I Go to the Ruined Place: Contemporary Poems in Defense of Global Human Rights
This Poetry Anthology features a poem by AIAW member Farnoosh Moshiri, "Blossoms Culled, Unripe".
Edited by Melissa Kwasny and M. L. Smoker, this 6 x 8 inch, 168 page Anthology is honest, brutal and inspiring. Read more here
For each book sold, $2 will be donated to the Bonner County (Idaho) Human Rights Task Force
Available at your local bookstore or online book retailer