Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation

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Poetry | Hafez's payāmé naseem, Part 5 Apr 22, 2024

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In this lesson, we go over the following lines of the poem payāmé naseem by Hafez:

جدا شد یار شیرینت کنون تنها نشین ای شمع
jodā shod yāré sheereenat konoon tanhā nesheen ay sha'am
که حکم آسمان این است اگر سازی و گر سوزی
ké hokmé āsemān een ast agar sāzee ō gar soozee

Poetry | Hafez's payāmé naseem, Part 4 Apr 15, 2024

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In this lesson, we go over the following lines of the poem payāmé naseem by Hafez:

به صحرا رو که از دامن غبار غم بیفشانی

bé sahrā rō ké az dāman ghobāré gham beafshānee

به گلزار آی کز بلبل غزل گفتن بیاموزی

bé golzār āy k’az bolbol ghazal goftan beāmoozee

Poetry | Hafez's payāmé naseem, Part 3 Apr 08, 2024

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In part 3 of our discussion of Hafez's poem payāmé naseem, we go over the 3rd and 4th lines of the poem:

چو گُل گَر خُردِه‌ای داری خُدا را صَرفِ عِشرَت کُن
کِه قارون را غَلَط‌ها داد سُودایِ زَر‌اَندوزی

chō gol gar khordeyee dāree khodā rā sarfé eshrat kon
ké ghāroon rā ghalat-hā dād sodāyé zarandoozee

Poetry | Hafez's payāmé naseem, Part 2 Apr 01, 2024

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In this part 2 episode of Hafez's beautiful poem payāmé naseem, we look at the individual words and phrases in the first two lines of the poem, and learn how to use the words and phrases in current Persian conversation.

Poetry | Hafez's payāmé naseem, Introduction with Fared Shafinury Mar 25, 2024

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In this introduction to the poem payāmé naseem, we are joined by musician Fared Shafinury to discuss the full selection of the poem. In addition, we provide a detailed overview of Hafez, the poet, and his significance in Iranian culture.

Poetry | Rudaki's shād zee Part 2 Mar 11, 2024

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In this second part of the poetry lesson for Rudaki's poem shād zee, we go over the entire poem line by line, phrase by phrase so you can get a full grasp of the vocabulary in the poem. You'll then have a full understanding of how to use the vocabulary in everyday conversation.

Poetry | Rudaki's shād zee Intro Feb 28, 2024

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This is the introduction to our shabé shehr (night of poetry) series, where we go over short selections of poems in Persian, and their overall meanings in English. In this episode, we're joined by Yara Elmjouie to talk about a poem by Rudaki about living in the moment.

Interview | Shally Zomorodi on Embracing Joy and Acceptance as a Form of Resistance Feb 21, 2024

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Shally Zomorodi is one of the more well-known and incredibly prolific members of the Iranian diaspora. Her day job is as a news anchor of Fox 5 San Diego Morning News where she’s been waking up San Diego for more than a decade now. However, her journalism career spans over two decades at this point, including a two-year stint in Texas where I live. But over the years, she’s also been heavily involved in the greater Iranian community, through her show Bereez o bepaz, through the many lives she does on her Instagram page interviewing other Iranians, or giving glimpses into her embrace of Iranian traditions in her home, through her Iranian gher breaks on her morning news show, and so much more.

I had a lot of questions to ask Shally after having watched her develop into such a force in the past few years, and especially over the last year.

Related Links:

Shally Zomorodi on Instagram

Interview | Hollay Ghadery on the Perils of Being Half Iranian and Her Memoir, Fuse Feb 07, 2024

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Hollay Ghadery is is an Iranian-Canadian writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions (2021) and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box, came out Radiant Press in 2023 and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, is scheduled for release with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Hollay is also a book publicist and the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township.

I read Hollay’s memoir Fuse back when it came out in 2021, and I couldn’t believe how applicable the things she wrote about were for my audience- for biracial or bicultural Iranians raised in the west grappling with issues of identity, of all the difficulties and joys of being raised with all these identities, of the dark sides of it, and the beautiful sides as well. I’m so excited for y’all to hear our conversation, and of course for you to experience this book, as I hope you all do.

Related Links:

Hollay’s memoir Fuse
Hollay on instagram

Interview | Noam Schuster-Eliassi on the Current State of Affairs in Israel and Her Iranian-Israeli Identity Jan 25, 2024

Show notes

From the very beginning of this current stage of the conflict, after the horrific events of October 7th, the first person I turned to for an understanding of what was happening was Noam Shuster-Eliassi. I’d been following her for a long time because of her comedy about Israel and Palestine.

I had so many questions to ask her, and was so incredibly grateful that she took the time to speak to me. There are no easy answers, and I will let the interview speak for itself. I thank you for taking the time to listen.

Related Links

Noam’s speech from 2015
Noam’s instagram page
Standing Together- a grassroots Jewish-Arab movement fighting for peace, equality and social justice in Israel/Palestine.