Persian Poetry Circleof North America, January 2004-
Persian Poetry Circleof North America, January 2004-
• Founders
• The Advisory Board
• Membership
• Our Mission
• Important Links
The
Persian Poetry Circle of North America (PPC) was established in St. Louis,
Missouri in the Spring 2004 by Fatemeh Keshavarz, an Associate Professor
of Persian and Comparative Literature in Washington University in St. Louis
and her colleague and co-founder Ahmet T. Karamustaf, Associate Professor
of Islamic History and Director of Religious Studies in the same university.
The administrative affairs of the PPC are currently managed by:
• Fatemeh
Keshavarz (President) – Washington
University, St. Louis
Fatemeh@artsci.wustl.edu
•Ahmet
Karamustafa (Vice President) – Washington
University,
St. Louis
Akaramus@artsci.wustl.edu
The following distinguished scholars/poets/musicians
are
currently on
the PPC Advisory Board:
• Carl Ersnt (At Large Member)
- Scholar, Translator,University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill
cenrst@email.unc.edu
• Michael Sells (At Large Member)
- Poet, Scholar, Translator,Haverford
College,Haverford, Pennsylvania
mcells@hverford.edu
• John Renard (At Large Member)
– Scholar, Translator,St.
Louis University, Renardj@SLU.edu
• Michael Castro (At Large Member)
– Poet, Translator,Director, Communications
Programs, LCIE
Lindenwood University,
St.
Louis
• Nader Rastegar (At Large Member)
– Philanthropist, Cultural activist,Atlanta,
NRastegar@aol.com
• Ahmad Karimi Hakkak (At Large
Member) – Scholar, Translator,University
of Washington, Seattle
Karimi@uwashington.edu
• Muhammad Tavakoli Targhi (At
Large Member) – Scholar, Translator,TorontoUniversity
mtavakol@ilstu.edu
• Reza Sohrabi (At Large Member)
– Cultural activist,Atlanta,
sohrabi@mindspring.com
• Pirayeh Pourafar (At Large
Member) – Composer, virtuaso performer,Los
Angeles, the Lian Ensemble
Membership
The PPC will not accept official
membership. However, anyone with special interest in promotion of multicultural
exchange through the medium of high quality poetry and music can support
and promote our non-profit enterprise. We are currently in the process
of registering the PPC as a Public Benefiet Corporation. As soon as that
is done an account will be openned at which point the account information
will be posted on this site for those interested in supporting our efforts
financially.
Our Mission
The primary
mission of the PPC is to reduce global conflict and misunderstanding by
promoting multicultural exchange through the medium of poetry and music.
Supporters of the Circle believe that once individuals are given a chance
to experience the richness of other cultures crystallized in their creative
artistic expressions, the likelihood of hatefulness and xenophobia will
decrease considerably.
Music and poetry are among the
most inviting, universal, and accessible products of human culture. A sad
consequence of the dominance of the culture of consumption is that, despite
the expansion and globalization of the market economy, works of master
poets and musicians are not made available to broader audiences across
the world. The PPC is committed to using all possible means to make these
important cultural artifacts available to the broader public through museums,
libraries, high schools, and institutes of higher education.
While the PPC supporters and enthusiasts are open to music and poetry from every culture on the globe, they share a special admiration for the impressive poetry and music of classical and modern Iran. To counter the current misperceptions associated with Iran, to learn from Iranian master poets and musicians, and to preserve these precious artifacts is of essence. The PPC would like to compensate for the politically antagonistic positions of the Iranian and American governments by making the poetry and music of Iran accessible to American audiences.
Poetry has played a central role in expressing the human desire to revere
the Sacred as well as to explore and redefine the notion itself with the
passage of time. The Sacred celebrated in almost all poetic traditions,
is colorful, nuanced, accessible to humanity, and willing to be personalized.
The PPC honors the culturally varied celebrations of the Sacred in all
poetic traditions and values any opportunity for interfaith exchange of
poetry and music that would enrich all parties involved in the exchange.
For the Musical component of performances and recordings, the PPC is fortunate to have the support and cooperation of one of the most imaginative and educated Iranian and American virtuoso musicians currently residing in the United States, The Lian Ensemble. The young and talented members of the Lian Ensemble are well-versed in traditional Persian Music and yet open to the riches of music elsewhere in the world. For more information on the ensemble, you may click on their name here or visit their site at Lianrecords.comThe Musical Component
The Annual Activities
organized by the PPC will include:
• Three public lectures a year
on the master poets of Iran aimed at the academic as well as the general
public across North America.
• Live reading of Persian
as well as English poetry to the music composed specially for the performance.
• Live performance of high quality
Persian music based on poetry written by Master Poets of Iran.
• Production of a series of
CDs on Master Poets of Iran in collaboration with the Lian Ensemble.
• Production of informative
written material to accompany the CDs to facilitate their use in classroom.
