To me, editing is not something you can do in a rush because the artists themselves are not always their own best editors. Time is absolutely everything.

Poets use metaphors and symbolism to construct images. I construct my images in the same way, except that I am using a different form.

Art is our weapon. Culture is a form of resistance.

Those of us living in the state of in between have certain advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of being exposed to a new culture and in my case the freedom that comes with living in the USA. The disadvantages of course being that you will never experience again being a center or quite home anywhere.

Being political is an integral part of being Iranian. Our lives are defined by politics.

Nature has the most powerfully healing effect.

The idea of feeling displaced, and never feeling safe anywhere in the world, where you always feel like you're safer if you're over there, is not just my experience. If you went to Iran today or an Iranian came to America today, or the fact that there are bombs exploding everywhere, there's just a tremendous sense of fear and feeling a desire for security.