FROM THE EDITOR
Joan Gaughan (Rasht/Lahijan, 1964-66)
This issue is coming to you at a uniquely perilous time in the history of our relationship with Iran. The Board’s letter to President Biden catches the response of PCIA to the peril. However, as the PCIA president, Chuck Kaminski, has written, “Unfortunately there is no magic wand to wave to bring forth the peace for which the Peace Corps strives either among the peoples of the world or those in the US. It’s vital and necessary that we must do our best to model and advocate for that peace…as the conflict escalates with Israel and Iran and its proxies in the region.”
Meanwhile, his letter From the President as well as the Mark Your Calendar article that follows, sketches the work that a committee of the Board has been doing in preparation for our last conference next October. So far, it promises to be something none of us will want to miss.
For some time, Iranian film makers have been gaining international recognition for their artistry. However, the Nema-ye Nazdik column highlights the work of three Iranian-American documentary filmmakers, Abbas Motlagh, Hossein Mahallati, and Jahangir Golestan, who are using their art to further the message of peace. In the context of another film,we also report on the closing of Persis Karim’s Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies. Brad Hanson’s story about his soghat is a reminder that we all sometimes blew it when it came to coping with Iran’s cultural nuances. In the Shaehr column, Carolyn Yale’s reaction to the music of Jacqueline de Pré shows why she has become PCIA’s favorite poet, and Jennifer Seaver tells the story of a Peace Corps volunteer taken hostage in an era before hostage taking had become a routine tool of international diplomacy. Kerry Segel continues the story of Dr. Tasbihi’s journey to Shiraz, and Rom Rom is fascinated by a mythical bird at Takhte-e Jamshid in his Aya Midanastid? Chef Babri has recipes for two of our favorite Persian dishes, and finally, don’t forget the November 13th Dooreh discussion which, this time, features our own historian, Genna Wangsness.
So gentle reader, befarma’id.
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