Learn About Iran Starter Kit

Books:
Autobiographies

“Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope” by Shirin Ebadi, 2006
“Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood” Graphic novels by Marjane Satrapi, 2003 & 2004

Stories about Iran“Garden of the Brave in War: Recollection of Iran” 2003 and “Seven Shades of Memory: Stories of old Iran” 1999 by Portland author Terence O’Donnell
“Reading Lolita in Tehran” by Azar Nafissi, and from a different point of view:
“Jasmine and the Stars, Reading More Than Lolita in Tehran” by Fatemeh Keshavarz

Classical Poetry
Edward Fitzgerald’s translations of “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam”
Dick Davis’ translations of Ferdowsi’s “Shahnameh”
Gertrude Bell’s translations of Hafiz
Everybody is translating Rumi!

Food and Culture“

New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies” and other food related books by Najmieh Batmanglij, 1992
During the first Saturday in August the annual Iranian Festival takes place in the Park Blocks by Portland State University with many cultural booths, music and food.
Persian New Year at the beginning of spring is celebrated locally by the following organizations: www.andisheh.org , www.persia.pdx.edu , www.iwao-pdx.org/4.html

US/Iran History, Iranian Politics & Social Movement

“Target Iran: The Truth About the White House’s Plans for Regime Change in Iran” by Scott Ritter, 2006.
“The ‘Great Satan’ Versus the ‘Mad Mullahs:’ How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other” by William Beeman, 2005
“All the Shah’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror” by Stephen Kinzer, 2003
“Iran, a People Interrupted” by Hamid Dabashi-Columbia University, New Press-2007
“Reading Legitimation Crisis in Tehran, Iran and the future of Liberalism” by Danny Postel, University of Chicago Prickly Paradigm Press – 2006
“Treacherous Alliance - The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States” by Trita Parsi, Yale University Press, 2007.

Anti War Websites
Elsewhere:
http://www.campaigniran.org/casmii
http://www.niacouncil.org
http://www.stopwaroniran.org

Delegations to Iran
http://www.forusa.org/programs/iran/may06.htm
http://www.iranpeacecorpsconnection.org
http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/mideast/iran

Articles
Seymour Hersh’s articles “The Iran Plans,” “Redirection” and “Shifting Targets”


Trita Parsi “Goading Iran into War” and “Long Division”


Gareth Porter “War Against Iran and the Logic of Dominance”


Others:

Portland’s KBOO 90.7 FM radio show “Voices of the Middle East” frequently covers Iran and has documents of the 1953 coup:

Recent BBC documentary on Iran


News and Views
www.iranian.com
www.payvand.com

Libraries, video and music stores now carry samplings of impressive Iranian contributions such as the films by Abbas Kiarostami and Mohsen or Samira Makhmalbaf. Sima Bina and Mohammed Reza Shajarian are classical Iranian singers, Kayhan Kalhor and Hossein Alizadeh are instrumentalists, the Kamkars are a well-known Kurdish band, and Googosh is Iran’s queen of pop music. Arash is an example for more recent Iranian hip-hop and Kiosk are the Iranian Dire Straights.