Reality has become so intolerable, she said, so bleak, that all I can paint now are the colors of my dreams.

If I turned towards books, it was because they were the only sanctuary I knew, one I needed in order to survive, to protect some aspect of myself that was now in constant retreat.

It is amazing how, when all possibilities seem to be taken away from you, the minutest opening can become a great freedom.

We all had to pay, but not for the crimes we were accused of. There were other scores to settle.

I am suddenly left alone again on the sunny path, with a memory of the rain.

When I was teaching at the University of Tehran we were struggling against the implementation of the revolution rules.

Unfortunately for governments like that of Iran, when they forbid something, people become more interested.