Zara Houshmand is an Iranian- American writer and theatre artist. Her plays have been produced in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and the Spoleto Festival. She has studied Balinese shadow puppetry and Tibetan performing arts, as well as translating contemporary Iranian plays. Her poetry, essays and translations from Rumi are featured regularly on the internet magazine Iranian.com. As Publications Director of the Mind and Life Institute for 10 years, she has facilitated a dialogue between Buddhism and western science. She was a pioneer in the development of virtual reality on the Internet, and her VR art installations have been exhibited internationally. |
A journal on the writer's role in society edited by esther altshul helfgott ____________________ |
Another Day and Counting by Zara Houshmand It's routine now: I drive my son to school, the sun just breaking through Pacific mist. Driving home, I listen to the news and quietly cry. My son won't listen anymore: "All opinions, hot air. Call me when they find some facts." Proud and fragile privilege of youth: demand the truth. The sky recedes, ashamed. What passes now for truth on this cold ball? The sky is pink with shame beyond the concrete ribbons where commuters crawl. What's in that microscopic dust that bends our light to post-card pretty pinks? Dust of concrete hopes exploded, dust of homes of sun-baked brick, complex chains of human dust and dust of promises to youth. Tonight my cheeseburger arrives with a flag poked proudly in the bun. The tiny paper stars and stripes seem far away, victory through the wrong end of the telescope, moon-landing on the circle of my plate. The waitress smiles broadly, but the food tastes bad, or maybe I've just lost my appetite. c2002 Zara Houshmand |
A journal on the writer's role in society edited by esther altshul helfgott ____________________ |
Zara Houshmand is an Iranian- American writer and theatre artist. Her plays have been produced in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and the Spoleto Festival. She has studied Balinese shadow puppetry and Tibetan performing arts, as well as translating contemporary Iranian plays. Her poetry, essays and translations from Rumi are featured regularly on the internet magazine Iranian.com. As Publications Director of the Mind and Life Institute for 10 years, she has facilitated a dialogue between Buddhism and western science. She was a pioneer in the development of virtual reality on the Internet, and her VR art installations have been exhibited internationally. |
