Sep 152011
 
 September 15, 2011  Poetry

Oh, Pure Golden Eastern Lady
Enough with you going through inequality,
Who said I am more than you?
Who said you are less than me?
You are the shame of my story, my silence.
Your dawning was never without reason,
I share the crime of your suffering,
In the form of your friend and lover.
You who is wounded in the Garden of Eden,
You, my companion, my completion.
Scream your majestic name with pride,
My dear, who hates the fetters of the cage,
Your presence was not in silence.
My soul mate, you who walk the same road as I,
Your place was not behind the walls of oblivion.
Leave the story of Eve to the wind,
Let the wind carry this myth.
Although the lifeless wind,
Will not be deceived by this fib.
You are the one that was awakened,
When the wind took my voice away.
Who said that in the night’s skirt
My share of the sun is more than yours?
I finished the words of your sentences,
Now it is your turn my lady,
This voice and this song is yours,
Don’t forgive me,
Talk of my vices.

Eastern Lady sung by Ebi
Translated by Dr. Mahnaz Badihian

“Hey Lady, come here, respect the laws, cover yourself.”
“Okay, okay.”
“Are you twelve years old?”
“Eleven.”
“Cover yourself with a chador, you must pray, you must recite the Koran from now on.”
“What kind of Hejab is this?  What are you wearing?  All your hair is out.”
“We didn’t have a revolution to regress.”

+ Woman’s protest against compulsory Hejab announced by Khomeini in 1981.

Sep 102011
 
 September 10, 2011  Poetry

The Beat Museum’s Fourth Annual Poetry Festival
in conjunction with
The Fourth Annual North Beach ArtWalk
with artist
Leah Lubin
and
On Saturday, September 24, we will be participating in 100,000 Poets for Change, a series of poetry readings in hundreds of cities across the world where poets are gathering to champion World Peace, sustainability, and other causes they celebrate in the hopes of making this a better world! Please join us and share your poetry.
For more information, see http://www.100TPC.org/
The Beat Museum
540 Broadway, San Francisco (at Columbus)
1:00 PM to 6:00 PM, Saturday & Sunday, September 24-25, 2011
Free admission
Enjoy poetry from 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM each day
Click here for printable Poetry Festival flyer
Sign up to perform and be on the flyer, by contacting Leah Lubin at:
leah@leahlubin.com
Event Program
Hosts
Saturday: David Madgalene
Sunday: Terry Adams

Performers (as of September 10)

Terry Adams
Mahnaz Badihian
Virginia Barrett
David Beckman
Ava Bird
Buford Buntin
Gaetana Caldwell-Smith
Marie Chang
Riki Chen
Neeli Cherkovski
Bobby Coleman
Owen Dunkle
Ana Elsner
Vilma Ginzberg
Philip Hackett
Bill Haines
Gary Horsman
Mary Hower
KEL
Marc Kokinos
Katie Lewin
Leah Lubin
Kirk Lumpkin
Carl Macki
David Madgalene
Judy Madgalene
Tom Mariani
Jym Marks
Clive Matson
H.D. Moe
Mystic Cowboy
Josh Nelson
Marc Olmsted
David James Randolph
Rose Rieman
Peter Sherburn-Zimmer
Michael Shorb
Michelle Silver
Bill Sullivan
Bill Vartnaw
Margo van Veen
Ted Walker
A.D. Winans
Rita Wolper
The Word-Music Continuum
Daniel Yaryan
Liv Zutphen

Prior Year Links:

Beat Museum Poetry Festival 2008
Beat Museum Poetry Festival 2009
Beat Museum Poetry Festival 2010

Sep 062011
 
 September 6, 2011  Poetry

We are all held captive under horizon
under the sharp teeth of life
under its heavy jaw
and under its tyranny.
We are  held captive
in the claws  of suspicion and uncertainty
under the tight skin of this world
we all know,
know well that we are so minute,
so minute that soon we will disappear
but the life in our veins is bigger than reality
which rides us on the rays of sun
to the warmth of living and love.

Sep 022011
 
 September 2, 2011  Arts, Poetry

Katherine Hastings, Tamam Kahn, Carolyn Losee

Painting by Mahnaz

Painting by, Mahnaz

Mahnaz Badihian, _Charselle, Rachel de Baere

20 Tue Sep 6, 07:00 PM 3300 Club
3300 Mission Street at 29th, San Francisco

 

© 2012 Mahnaz Badihian