Description
Book SynopsisIranian Diaspora Identities: Stories and Songs combines oral history, storytelling, theories of communication, and performance studies into a unique study of an immigrant community. This book is the result of collaborative work between two Iranian-American immigrants, one a musician and artist and the other a professor. Using ethnographic, dramatistic, and oral history approaches, Ziba Shirazi gathered these stories of diaspora journeys of Iranians living in California and Toronto in the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The editors transcribed these stories and developed them into short performance pieces that include lyrics and songs and were performed in the United States and Canada to thousands of people in theater venues and libraries. These stories constitute a unique archive of the history of contemporary Iranian diaspora experiences. They are autobiographic vignettes that have helped constitute an artistic vision of Iranian exiles' own sense of community and their mi
Trade ReviewStarting with a deceptively simple question, “When and why did you leave Iran?” Ziba Shirazi uncovered a trove of compelling, heartbreaking, loving, and funny stories that belie the western stereotypes of Iranian diaspora and their experience. This compelling work of Afary and Shirazi goes beyond the academic, esoteric, sanitized investigation of culture, migration, and global conflicts to examine the lived experiences of the sojourners’ struggles, triumphs and rebirths authentically by using the Persian cultural bedrock-medium of poetry and storytelling. This book brings intercultural communication, Diaspora Studies, immigration research and cultural studies theory alive providing scholars, students and instructors a wealth of material to consider, examine, discuss and explore. -- Nancy Grass, Santa Monica College
A unique collection of engaging and moving migration stories of diverse groups of Iranians to the US after the Islamic revolution of 1979. Shirazi and Afary provide an informative introduction to the revolution and its subsequent social-political conditions that led many to leave the country. The authors offer an in-depth analysis of the themes of migration and the processes of acculturation and identity transformation that help the reader gain a better understanding of the experiences and challenges of Iranian diaspora in the US. An important work of aural history and unforgettable stories. -- Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa, Columbia College Chicago
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
A Note on Translations, Monologues, and Stories
Introduction: Revolution, War, and the Making of an Iranian Diaspora Literature .
Monologues
1.My Rite of Passage and Unexpected Fate
Ziba Shirazi
2.The Outsider
Fariba Boghraty
3.The Pain of Language Barrier
Farrokh Boghraty
4.Senior Life
Massy Alavi
5.Lost Identity
Nasrin Almasi
6.A Girl with an American Husband
Shahla
7.Made in America, Delivered in Iran
Shahrzad Safinya
8.Unfulfilled Dreams
Shervin
9.A Simple Dream
Valentina Nazaretian
Stories
10A Dream of Hope
Mahvash Dareshi Gheytanchi Levi
11.Asal (Honey)
Homayoun Houshiarnejad
12.Living a Full Life
Iran
13.A Space to Design
Manijeh Teymouri
14.A Small Suitcase for a Great Escape
Modjgan Rashtian
15.The Teacher
Sorour Nayeri
16.The First Kiss
Vida Ghahremani
17.The Doorbell Ring
Zohreh
In Place of a Conclusion. A Selective Analysis of the Themes of Iranian Diaspora
Bibliography
Index
About the Editors
