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The Dwelling of the Damned [by Sholeh Wolpé]
In 1988 Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the execution of nearly 5000 political prisoners. Their bodies were dumped in mass graves at unmarked sites in Khavaran cemetery. Khavaran cemetery, located in southeast Tehran, is a place…
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The Shift-Circle [by Sholeh Wolpé]
I believe in the power of empathy, the ability to put oneself in another person’s shoes without having to necessarily agree with her or him. I believe that seeing the world through another…
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Authors (by Lawrence J. Epstein)
Authors were the people who had the greatest influence on me. They weren’t the people I loved the most. That group includes my wife, children, grandchildren, and extended family. The authors weren’t even the…
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Ready to Serve: “They Looked After Me” [by Mari L’Esperance]
(Ed. note: This is the third post in our Ready to Serve series. Find previous posts here. sdh) For nearly three years in the ‘80s I waited tables at a waterfront steak-and-seafood restaurant in…
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Tales of Spare Change (1964-1998) [by Alan Ziegler]
In the 1960s, they are commonly known as bums or panhandlers, and most have a story to sell for some spare change. A panhandler in Times Square tells me how bad I am and…
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Flowers: A Marriage of Poetry and Music in Iran [by Sholeh Wolpé]
In 1955, Davood Pirniya, a music lover and a well-connected and powerful man within the Iranian government, used his political resources to fund and establish an orchestra, bringing in the best vocalists and composers…
