" A man from ashes"by Hiva Panahi

 
Dreams come from far away places
the stones, the birds and I take on new forms of life
dreams have their own road
and we live far away these days, like dreams 





Reference: 
1) From my second collection " A man from ashes" Austerity Measures, The New Greek Poetry, edited by Karen Van Dyck, trans. Maria Margaronis

World Poetry Day March 21, in NYC at McNally Jackson bookstore

This year the World Poetry Day will be a memorable day to all of us, and this event is co-sponsored by the Black Sea Networks at Columbia University.
That would honour the real face of the people that they are: committed and transformation of poetry such a strong structure of human civilization; professor Karen Van Dyck a literary critic, teacher and author, from Columbia University through the world of ideas and dreaming words as powerful poetry; It is deep emotion for me and I will be there too..
*****A portion of book sale proceeds from the evening will be donated to the ACLU and books by the participants, as well as Austerity Measures, will be available http://www.mcnallyjackson.com/event/austerity-measures-new-greek-poetry

Dr. Hiva Panahi talked about her poetry and life in NYC

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am deeply moved and overjoyed being here in NY with all of you. I'm also excited to be in the conference room of the workers' union which brings forth ideas  that have been a source of inspiration for the whole world.

Dear friends, brothers, and sisters, I come from my Kurdish homeland, which has been divided during the last century by the major forces into four separate entities in four different countries. My people, the Kurds, are now split and divided in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. In every part of Kurdistan, my people are forbidden to speak our language and are stripped of our natural right to practice our culture. I know it seems so incredible and extreme but this is the tragic truth. It's like forbidding a rose from being a rose. Kurdish people are strong-willed and have deep-rooted beliefs and aspirations for freedom and respect for life. This is why these superpowers did not succeed in carrying out their evil plan of genocide, the plan to destroy the Kurdish culture.

My people not only resisted and invented ways to survive but they also created a high spiritual identity. I come from an intellect which has been continuously under harsh persecution to this day. Generations of writers, poets and artists have been sacrificing their lives for the Kurdish culture.

As a Kurd of the Diaspora, I have also lived 17 years of my life in Greece. Those years have been a gift as I was able to connect with the highest institutions of the generous Greek culture and its spiritual traditions. I managed to give back to my new country my meager intellectual gifts as a poet and as a scientist, but life was still difficult. Being invisible in intellectual spaces, I suffered for many years under the persecution. As a result I lost everything.

During all those dark years, my poetry was like a light coming from angels to save me; my writing brought me here,  became my wings; became my spiritual passport to the United States and here rise again.

   My wish is that cultural creations such as poetry, will give mental and spiritual strength towards stability throughout the world. Poetry must remain as the immortal logos, like light... 

Dr. Hiva Panahi, Book party 

4.12.2016, NYC    

Poetry Against Oppression – A Kurdish-Iranian Human Rights Advocate Dr. Hiva Panahi

Poetry Against Oppression – A Kurdish-Iranian Human Rights Advocate
When:January 11, 2017 @ 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Discussion Presentation Reading Screening Signing

As a lifelong advocate for rights and opposition to human trafficking, Hiva Panahi speaks eloquently and passionately about the worldwide struggle for freedom and dignity, and especially about the special oppression of women and girls. Her poetry, at times heartbreaking, at times uplifting, reflects the lives of women in Iran, as well as the experience of a refugee seeking shelter in a foreign land.

Dr. Panahi will read from her first collection of poetry in English, after which she will answer questions about her journey and her art.
This post was replicated from another site's calendar feed.
This entry was posted on November 8, 2016.
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Foreign Land, Hiva Panahi from the " Secrets of the Snow"

Foreign Land
The heart became a museum
The only one who comes to visit
Is loneliness
2000 

From the collection of Hiva's poetry, "Secrets of the Snow" published by Hard Ball Press, NYC, US, 2016

Book lunch for Dr. Hiva Panahi in United Auto Workers conference rooms, NYC, Manhattan

Book lunch for Dr. Hiva Panahi in United Auto Workers conference rooms, NYC, Manhattan

The book lunch will be take place in Sunday, Dec. 4, 1-4 pm at the United Auto Workers conference rooms, New York City, Address is: 256 W. 38th Street, 12th floor, Manhattan

An Introduction to Hiva Panahi Poetry by Nanos Valaoritis

An Introduction to Hiva Panahi Poetry by Nanos Valaoritis
The poems of Hiva Panahi have a sweet flavor of the East. Full of allusions and mostly short, they breathe a quality that stems from a very ancient poetic tradition in which poetry indirectly refers to events that are often tragically nostalgic and intensely passionate, tempered only by the way they are referred to. The intense feelings are enveloped by metaphors and omissions, avoiding direct description. Their particularities are admirable and greatly differ from the way we write in Europe and in the States. Hiva belongs to the great Medes tradition; the intense nuances of powerful feelings come from her Kurdish origin and dramatically colour her poetry.Hiva is exceptional in that with the publication of her first book in Greek, she introduced Greek readers to a little known style, at least in poetry writing. Especially noteworthy is the fact that she translated them first hand from Kurdish to Greek, having mastered the language and tradition of Greece after only eight months.

*On the occasion of the Greek edition of the Hiva poetry, Nanos Valaoritis, 2007, Athens
**Nanos Valaoritis is the most important poet of the Hellenic diaspora since Constantine Cavafy, Emeritus professor at the State University of San Francisco US