A celebration of Persian voices and talent

Nowruz Journal Nowruz Journal Nowruz Journal NowruzJournal_Issue003 Nowruz Journal

FEATURED

Photo by Jordan Graff
Translation

from REQUIEM OF THE WIND
BY ABOUTORAB KHOSRAVI

Translated by Nayereh Doosti

I knew that my wife was always waiting there and watching over me. That’s why I would rush to arrive at my shift early…I would hear the screeching of the hinges and the window would open wide. Her voice rang out in the dark when she said, “Mansour, is that you?”

Sister Tongue by Farnaz Fatemi
Interview

A Conversation with
Farnaz Fatemi

For me the obvious lesson I’ve learned from being a poet and from being someone who has made efforts to learn languages is that the world might, finally, be untranslatable.

Spring Blossom (2020) • Acrylic © Marjane Saidi
Art

THE CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS AND OTHER WORKS

by Marjane Saidi

My paintings are an ongoing reflection on my personal journey of leaving my homeland. They represent fragments of memories of the Persian heritage I try to keep alive in the rhythm of my thoughts.

Photo by Shino
Fiction

RENOVATION OVERDUE

by Maryam Ghatee

The reflection of the glowing colors in his hazel-green eyes lit Niloo with a desire she mistook for love…at the future they were to share together.

Photo by Becky Phan
Essay

LETTERS FROM SHIRAZ:
A REVOLUTION I DID NOT SEE, BUT HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN

by Cameran Ashraf

Revolutions are bigger—and smaller—than history books. My mother’s part of the drama was encapsulated in these letters: is this man right for me? How can I dye my hair? Will they kill me?

Photo by Mali Desha
Essay

BRING YOUR FEAR!

by Daniel Rafinejad

I looked up pneumonia in the Time-Life book and then asked my mother what “fatal” meant. When she told me, I became frantic, sobbing into a throw pillow…The Persian word meaning seriously ill—not from a cold, but from cholera or smallpox or cancer—is bimār. My mother taught me that it literally means “fear-inducer,” or “fear-bringer.”

From our Previous Issue

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© Sanam Khani
Art & Photography

THE REFLECTION SERIES

by Sanam Khani

“Who we are today is a reflection of our past and our given circumstances; our distinct variety of cultures are reflections of history and customs; the current status of our planet is a consequence of its past and its encounters.”

Photo by Kazuo Ota
Poetry

ONE THOUSAND
AND ONE NIGHTS

by Tracy Fuad

“When did I begin to have preferences // And when did what I tended to draw nearer to begin to blur”

Sofreh_02
Interview

A CONVERSATION WITH CHEF NASIM ALIKHANI OF SOFREH

On Food, Love, and Memory

“Alikhani learned the language of food and love—and of mohabat and aramesh—from her earliest memories, and it is as much her native language as Persian is.”