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Today's Feature: Maryam S. Alikhani

4/28/2013

48 Comments

 

National Poetry Month Celebration

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Bio:  Maryam Alikhani is a City College alumnus with an M.F.A. in Creative Writing for poetry and a doctoral student in English Education at Teachers College Columbia University. She is an English instructor, educator, translator, and poet. Maryam writes her poems in English, Persian and sometimes in Spanish. Her poetry has appeared in Esque Mag, Poetry in Performance, Promethean, the Poetry of Yoga as well as several periodicals in Tehran.   

The Moroccan Curtain

I follow the rainbow beams of
Sunlight through the crystals of
My Moroccan curtain
And rise like the last
Woman on the earth
The window is lonely


A robin sits on the sill
With a message from Emily
To open my society
I unwrap the present
“Sobh be kheir, Aziz.”
“Good morning, dear.”

The Interview

Where do you draw your inspiration from to write poetry?
From conversations, music, trees, and light. Basically the world I live in is always material for my poetry. What I see, what I hear, and the conversations I have with people, friends or strangers, inspire me to write. Often I hear a phrase or a line and I go from there.

What advice do you have for someone that is threatened by poetry?

Threatened? Yes, I hear that a lot. Since when has poetry become a threat? There was a time when literature meant poetry. People knew hundreds of lines of poetry by heart and recited them. Then they passed those poems chest to chest from generation to the next. In addition to the aesthetic pleasure of poetry as a form of art, poetry preserved history, genealogy, culture, etc.; it flourished language, and had pedagogical or educational values. It still does, of course. And I personally know some poetry cultures that people read and recite poetry fearlessly. 


However, poetry is not as much a form of writing in our routine academic and professional life. In other words, the fear of poetry mostly comes from not writing it. Therefore, I recommend those who are afraid of poetry to pick up a pen, or sit at their computers and write a poem. There are many techniques of poetry writing to learn from, but I emphasize on the content - not the structure. There are many poetry resources online that one can get help from and it does not matter how you write in the first place. 

Do not be concerned about writing good or bad poems. Just pick up a pen and a piece of paper and write. Everybody has a story, a feeling or a thought that wishes to share.  There are always people who you can share your poems with. Reach out for your inner sources and write with your own voice. What comes from the heart goes to the heart. Writing poetry makes us better readers of poetry, too. Once we experience how poetry is written, and how it works, we enjoy reading it more, and then we are no longer afraid of poetry.

What is an interesting fact about you? 
I can cross one eye and not the other. 

Where are you from / Where do you live?
I am from Tehran, and live in Manhattan.

Who is your favorite poet?
There are many, but if I should mention just one poet that would be definitely Forough Farokhzad.  In English poetry, my favorite is Emily Dickinson. 

Links to poetry:  
http://www.esquemag.org/2012/02/05/maryam-alikhani/
http://thepoetryofyoga.com/2012/08/the-child-inside/
www.poetrydivan.blogspot.com

48 Comments
cynthia
4/29/2013 01:30:25 am

I like how you use your everyday life in your poem. And your advice are very helpful.

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maryam
4/29/2013 07:09:07 am

Thank you very much.

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Maxwell
4/29/2013 05:57:16 am

Never read any poetry so original and refreshing, please keep up the great work.

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Yvonne Brown
4/29/2013 01:40:24 pm

Thank you for your support and kind words Maxwell!

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Edwin
4/29/2013 08:31:53 am

I am really amazed in the way you can make everyday things into poetry, also the fact that you could write in three different languages. I have a question, when you write in an other language do you think differently or have a different perspective of the world around you?

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Yvonne Brown
4/29/2013 01:41:46 pm

Thanks for your support Edwin! Good questions too! I can't wait to hear Maryam's response!

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maryam
4/29/2013 02:14:43 pm

Hi Edwin, I think I do. Some concepts can only be said in one language and not in the other, and in translation some things get lost. So I write every poem in the language that I am originally inspired by or in the language of the audience I have in mind. I also do not avoid code switching. I have a collection of words from the world languages that I do not speak, but I weave them into one poem, like colors of an oriental rug. Because they sound good, look good on the paper, taste good on th etongue or because there is not an accurate equivalent for them. I let the language carry me instead of hindering me from where I want to go.

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Hyon
4/29/2013 08:45:12 am

It's interesting to see how you integrate multiple languages into your poetry.

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Elijah
4/29/2013 09:17:33 am

I really didn't understand this one but I like how it was bilingual and the lines in the foreign language seemed to flow with the poem

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Sagen
4/29/2013 10:34:36 am

She really has a way of creating such innovate poetry

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Paola
4/29/2013 11:17:07 am

I find this to be inspirational as well. I say that to be able to speak another language and express it throughout a poem is creative. I like how you would used it as an everyday way of expressing your day. Although I would actually want to hear some of your poem. I think it's great that people find poetry as an expression to how you want to form words together. Words are powerful and those that say it in a poem makes it even greater because you are not only expressing the form of the poem but also the way you would want to say it or how others would read it.

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Yvonne Brown
4/29/2013 01:50:56 pm

Thank you for your support Paola!!

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maryam
4/29/2013 02:29:31 pm

“Language is the house of Being. In its home man dwells. Those who think and those who create with words are the guardians of this home.” –Martin Heidegger, German philosopher, Letter on Humanism, 1947

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Blanca
4/29/2013 01:13:13 pm

Loved the Poetry, I loved how she intertwined the two languages together to bring meaning to her work. I can also relate to her when she says she gets her inspiration from something she has heard... I do the same,,, she uses her surroundings to provide a vivid art.

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Yvonne Brown
4/29/2013 01:59:23 pm

Thanks for your comment and support Blanca!

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maryam
4/29/2013 02:17:21 pm

Thank you.

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Kayla W.
4/30/2013 12:38:55 pm

I liked the use of a different language, even though I didn't fully understand it. It was very creative, and different.

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Tiffany Hampton link
4/30/2013 11:54:05 pm

Beautiful Poetry!

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Rob link
4/30/2013 11:54:55 pm

Like the Poem! I can also cross 1 eye and not the other!

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Joanna L link
5/1/2013 12:59:59 am

Excellent Poem.

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Julie Wilson link
5/1/2013 01:27:29 am

Loved the poem.

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Christian link
5/1/2013 03:32:30 am

I love the one in Esque magazine... the way you take inspiration from what you see is amazing!

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maryam
5/3/2013 01:45:15 am

Thank you Christian.

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Loretta
5/1/2013 03:35:29 am

Ahhh poetry... the language of romance, the language of God!

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Bradley Finnearty link
5/1/2013 03:39:06 am

Very nice.

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Fred link
5/1/2013 05:41:38 am

...still learning...

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Bagicha Padilla link
5/1/2013 06:31:14 am

"Do not be concerned about writing good or bad poems. Just pick up a pen and a piece of paper and write. Everybody has a story, a feeling or a thought that wishes to share. There are always people who you can share your poems with. Reach out for your inner sources and write with your own voice. What comes from the heart goes to the heart. Writing poetry makes us better readers of poetry, too. Once we experience how poetry is written, and how it works, we enjoy reading it more, and then we are no longer afraid of poetry."

Absolutely love it!! Inspiring!! Thank you!!

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Tina link
5/1/2013 07:12:32 am

Well, finally it's my turn to write. Where have I been all day? You know how much I enjoy the poetry you post. Thanks so much for continuing to share your inspiration with us.

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Dov Shapira link
5/1/2013 08:00:20 am

Welcome to the US Maryam Alikhani

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JasmineBW
5/1/2013 10:09:10 am

The use of culture shows diversity in not only the poetry community but in inspirational people around the world. This was a refreshing reminded of all of the different types of talented people in the world.

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Todd link
5/1/2013 10:46:26 am

great poetry...

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Heather Petersen
5/1/2013 11:17:55 am

Love the poem!

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Lovely Ruth R.
5/1/2013 11:33:07 am

I love how the poem is paradoxically created with positive and negative tone and mood. It's just beautiful because I feel that there is more message into it despite that there are only a few lines to the poem.

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Heather Walter link
5/1/2013 12:34:13 pm

You know.. I had never once realized that people were threatened by poetry. It can be simple, yet so complex at the same time. More people should embrace it

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Veronica
5/1/2013 01:10:44 pm

Another great one!

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Kristin link
5/1/2013 02:36:28 pm

Poetry is like the cream and rich cheeses of literature. So much of what we read these days is partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and "I can't believe it's not butter."

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Kieran link
5/1/2013 10:40:36 pm

Great stuff. :)

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Felecia Armstrong
5/1/2013 11:06:05 pm

I love poetry I find that it calms me when I am stressed. Beautiful poem.!!!!

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Jason Valasek link
5/2/2013 02:17:35 am

Oh poetry...poetic people...very seldom now. I wish there will be more people like you to gave more arts of our language and continue....I cannot imagine the next generations to come 10 more or 20 years from now without poems. Poems...how could these poet composed them? Very gifted huh!?

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Kylie Holliday
5/2/2013 06:58:56 am

I really enjoy the imagery you use. I get a clear picture of what you're trying to convey.

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Davonte S.
5/2/2013 09:09:59 am

when you read the first poem she posted, the message is sooo short and sweet. You fully feel it. it gave me chills because I felt like that was me.

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maryam
5/3/2013 01:44:42 am

Thank you Davonte for reading my poem.

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Thomas Velez
5/2/2013 11:58:21 pm

Maryam your poem "The Moroccan Curtain" sounds like the best morning ever. You inspire me because you speak 3 languages not 1 like i do. I mean if i get lost in another country their is nothing i can do and you teach. I might hate school but i always have respect for teachers because teachers are the ones who bulid the future by teaching youth everything they need to make the future. I salute you

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maryam
5/3/2013 01:43:44 am

Thank you Thomas. Your comment is very inspirational to me, too.

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James Long
5/3/2013 10:39:34 pm

I liked how you intertwined cultures and used another language within you're poem. Plus, you are a very talented and inspirational person Speak 3 languages, your're an educator, translator, and poet just wow. Goodluck with everything.

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Maryam
5/7/2013 06:06:05 am

Thank you so much, James, Gracias. Sepas.

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Shawntel Collins
5/13/2013 01:51:30 pm

I like that she draws inspiration from her life and the things around her. Poetry will always mean more to you if you have a connection to what your talking about and it will better connect with your audience because someone else might have had that experience too

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Maryshah
7/11/2013 10:33:12 pm

Bravo Maryam

DD

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