A safe and supportive place to explore Iranian identity through writing led by acclaimed authors Anita Amirrezvani and Persis Karim.

EXPLORING IRANIAN IDENTITY: A WRITING WORKSHOP
Whether you are part of an older generation that immigrated from Iran during the revolution, belong to a younger generation born or raised in the United States (perhaps with only one Iranian parent), an immigrant in pursuit of greater freedoms, a student on a short-term visa, or a woman married to an Iranian, you are part of a new wave of women that experience otherness.

The Workshop:
In this two-day, multi-generational writing workshop, you will explore your identity through writing by working in an intimate setting with three experienced, well-published writers: Anita Amirrezvani, Persis Karim, and Sholeh Wolpé. Through a series of writing exercises you will be guided and helped to get your story on the page, either as fiction, non-fiction, or poetry. The workshop includes writing techniques and feedback on your work as well as goal-setting for your project. By the end of the workshop you will have a clearer sense of how one’s identity can inform one’s voice. You will also be provided with concrete suggestions on how to further polish your work, and a list of publications to which you can submit your story or poem.

Workshop limited to 18 people. $350 for general; $275 students. Workshop fee includes printed materials, snacks/tea. Returning alumni will receive a discount to take the workshop a second time. 

Please register by filling out this form: http://goo.gl/forms/OmyHThq14N

Workshop Leaders:
Anita Amirrezvani was born in Tehran, Iran, and raised in San Francisco. Her first novel, The Blood of Flowers, has appeared in 25 languages and was long-listed for the 2008 Orange Prize for Fiction. Her second novel, Equal of the Sun, was published by Scribner in 2012. She is co-editor of Tremors: New Fiction by Iranian American Writers. Anita teaches in the MFA Program in Writing at the California College of the Arts.

Persis Karim has edited three anthologies of Iranian-American literature including A World Between: Poems, Short Stories and Essays by Iranian Americans (1999), Let Me Tell You Where I’ve Been: New Writing by Women of the Iranian Diaspora(2006) and most recently, Tremors: New Fiction by Iranian American Writers (2013, with Anita Amirrezvani). Her poetry has been published in numerous national journals and magazines. She teaches literature and creative writing at San Jose State University.