A World Between: Poems, Short Stories, and Essays by Iranian-Americans [Hardcover]

Persis M. Karim (Author), Mohammad Mehdi Khorrami (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 1999

This collection is the first published anthology of writings by Iranian immigrants and first generation Iranian Americans. This collection is the first published anthology of writings by Iranian immigrants and first generation Iranian Americans. Wide ranging and deeply personal, these pieces explore the Iranian community's continuing struggle to understand what it means to be Iranian in America. The selections come together to present a rich, humanizing portrait of a growing community Americans tend to view negatively. Many are intimate reflections on the pain of being alienated from the language, history, and geography of one's childhood. Others grapple with the complexities of cultural and personal identity. Iranian Americans, like any other immigrant community, must face the ongoing negotiation between past and present, their native home and their adopted home. A World Between gives voice to their unique and moving stories.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 1979 Iranian revolution catalyzed the migration of more than one million Iranians to the U.S. The writings of the first generation of immigrants reveal their common "sense of alienation and 'in-betweenness,' " according to editor Khorrami. The result is that an impression of bleaknessAeven bitternessAand mourning pervades this collection of original poems, short stories and transcripts of videotaped interviews with Iranian-American students conducted at UC-Berkeley. Zara Houshmand's poem "I Pass" exposes the universal dilemma of the outsider: "I hold the cards close to my chest;/ I bluff./ You call./ I pass." Likewise, Laleh Khalili's poem "Defeated" recounts how many immigrants "slowly unlearned [their] ancestry" and "lost" themselves. Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet's story "Martyrdom Street" describes a woman coming back to consciousness after an Iraqi bombing of an Iranian post office, next to "a man's dismembered hand, beautiful with long artistic fingers, capable of painting masterpieces or composing epics." This woman "survives," but loses the use of her own left hand and watches helplessly as her marriage becomes a casualty of war. Though too bleak to be read in one sitting, these stories and poems are eloquent testimony to the eminent desirability of peace.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

While many themes in this collection echo typical immigrant experiences, most of the contributions offer unusual glimpses into a lesser-known and often stereotyped ethnic group. The majority of the more than one million Iranian Americans left their homeland after the 1979 events that brought down the Shah and ushered in a new fundamentalist order. This anthology includes stories, essays, and poems by more than 30 first- and second-generation Iranian Americans, set against the backdrop of the Islamic revolution in Iran and refugee life in America. Charming and deeply personal, the writings often reflect on the pain of alienation and cultural struggle. The diversity of the contributors is noteworthy, ranging from 14-year-old Sharif, whose poem "My Father's Shoes" describes the pain of exile, to Persian poet and New York University professor Mohammad Khorrami. This first-ever collection of writings in English by Iranian American literary talents is highly recommended for most libraries.AAli Houissa, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: George Braziller, Inc.; 1 edition (May 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807614432
• ISBN-13: 978-0807614433
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,821,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a much-needed text and the beginning of true dialogue, April 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A World Between: Poems, Short Stories, and Essays by Iranian-Americans (Hardcover)

This anthology is long overdue and offers an important look at the experiences of Iranians on the North American continent during the past two decades. This powerful and subtle collection offers both a literary and sociologically-based (without appearing either academic or polemical) account and understanding of this relatively new ethnic group. The poems, short stories, and essays pay tribute to the experiences of loss and longing, but also offering a more positive view of Iran and Iranian people--that finally challenges the long-held views of the media that depict Iranians as fanatical and without self-reflection. "A World Between" can and must be read with its historical context in mind. It is not simply a bleak vision of those who left and are in exile, but of those who struggle to reconcile both American and Iranian culture and to bring them into dialogue. The book initiates a new literary culture, but further elucidates for Americans the sometimes painful and irreconciable realities of history, migration, and assimilation. A must-read! And what a cover! Gorgeous!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb ethnic American anthology, March 10, 2002

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A World Between: Poems, Short Stories, and Essays by Iranian-Americans (Paperback)

"A World Between: Poems, Short Stories, and Essays by Iranian-Americans," edited by Persis M. Karim and Mohammad Mehdi Khorrami, is an excellent anthology which greatly enriches the world of ethnic American literature. The pieces in this collection deal with many issues: language, biculturalism and the anxieties of assimilation, family ties, male-female relationships, Islamic fundamentalism, the role of Zoroastrians as a religious minority, war and its aftermath, etc. Although many such issues are specific to Iranian-Americans, others are universal to all "ethnic" Americans. The stories take place in both Iran and the United States, and one even takes place in France.

Some of my favorite pieces in this book include the following: "Made You Mine, America," Ali Zarrin's joyful poem which invokes both Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes; Mariam Salari's humorous short-short story "Ed McMahon Is Iranian"; Ramin M. Tabib's story "Tuesdays," about two Iranian-Americans in the L.A. club scene; Nazanin Sioshansi's essay "The Suffocating Sense of Injustice," about Zoroastrians in Iran; and Siamak Namazi's fascinating essay "Finding Peace in the Iranian Army," about an Iranian citizen who returns to fulfill his military obligation after living in the United States.

"A World Between" really opened my eyes to some of the pain and beauty of the world(s) of Iranian-Americans. This anthology would be ideal both for classroom use and individual reading. For a fascinating complementary text, try "Boricuas: Influential Puerto Rican Writings," edited by Roberto Santiago.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The View from Afar, May 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A World Between: Poems, Short Stories, and Essays by Iranian-Americans (Hardcover)

When searching for a book- for my cultural anthropology class, I found this incredible and extraordinary book. I am Mexican, and my boyfriend is Iranian. Hence, sometimes it was difficult to comprehend many things about his culture, but this book really helped me to understand and appreciate Iranian culture. He is more American than Iranian, but he has faced the ongoing negotiation between his past and present, his native home and his adopted home I will recommend this book to anyone who is interested in achieving a personal enrichment and wants to see our modern world with different eyes.