My Literary Activities in 2023

I spent the first five months of 2023 in Edmonton, as the Writer-in-Residence at the University of Alberta. I continued running Shab-e She’r Poetry Open Mic and the weekly drop-in Writing Circles on campus; gave readings, workshops, and visited classes in other Alberta cities, Canadian provinces and the United States (virtually); was on panels and had interviews and conversations with fellow-writers across the world. As in previous years, I was the curator of Poetry Nights with the HAPPENING Multicultural Festival.?

Upon my return, I resumed the Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night) series at the Tranzac Club. We are scheduled to continue the series there in 2024. I had readings at different series.? With my co-editor Cy Strom, I kept working on the anthology Woman, Life, Freedom: Poems for the Iranian Revolution. We had a fundraiser for the anthology in October. We are still accepting submissions and donations:

https://guernicaeditions.submittable.com/submit

https://www.gofundme.com/f/woman-life-freedom-anthology

?

James Rolfe released a CD of his musical compositions based on works of diverse poets titled Wound Turned to Light. One of my poems was also included.

I was invited to be on the Poet Laureate Selection Committee for the City of Edmonton and joined the Translation Advisory Board of The Other Side of Hope: Journeys in Refugee and Immigrant Literature, UK.

In 2023, I published thirteen new poems and one reprinted poem, four poetry translations, four essays, and had six interviews on different platforms.

?

Here’s an abridged list:

?

·?????? Poem, “Catastrophe,” in: Dissident Voice, editor: Angie Tibbs, https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/11/catastrophe/

·?????? Poem, “The Gospel of Mirrors,” in: Dissident Voice, editor: Angie Tibbs, https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/10/the-gospel-of-mirrors/

·?????? Poem, “Life Is Like Moon,” in: Topical Poetry, Issue 67, https://topicalpoetry.com/life-is-like-moon/

·?????? Poem, “Death after Death,” in: Dissident Voice, Senior Editor Angie Tibbs, https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/09/death-after-death/

·?????? “What Kind of Poems Are We Looking For?” https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/what-kind-poems-we-looking-b%25C3%25A4noo-zan/?trackingId=gn7ExvTwQ1yOaNN0YnxbFA%3D%3D

·?????? Poem, “Cottage Canada,” in: Canadian Woman Studies/ les cahiers de la femme, Volume 36, Numbers 1,2 (2023) The Black and Indigenous Leadership Issue, York University publication, pages 22-24. https://cws.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cws/issue/view/2153

·?????? Poem, “The Fight,” in: Dissident Voice, Issue July 16, 2023, https://dissidentvoice.org/2023/07/the-fight/

·?????? “The Best of Times, the Worst of Times,” in: periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics, editor: Rob McLennan, https://periodicityjournal.blogspot.com/2023/07/banoo-zan-best-of-times-worst-of-times.html

·?????? Poem: “The Rise of a Martyr,” in: Writers Resist, Issue 140: June 2023, https://www.writersresist.com/2023/06/15/the-rise-of-a-martyr/

·?????? Poem: “Childhood Dream,” in Verse Afire: A Bi-Annual Publication of the Ontario Poetry Society. I. B. Iskov Editor & Publisher, I.S.S.N. 1715-0280, June 2023

·?????? Article in Persian translated from the Gauntlet article: ???? ??? ???? ??????-????????: ???? ????? ? ????? ?? ?? ??? ??? ???? ???? ??????? | ????? ???? ???? ( hafteh.ca ) ?

·?????? Three translations of Rumi’s Ghazals: “How Should I Know?” "?? ?? ?????”? (No. 1517 in the Divan of Shams)” “Mixed Ghazal” "??? ??????" (No 530-540, the Divan of Shams), and “Moon Worshipper” "??? ???" (No. 2219 in the Divan of Shams) in: The Polyglot Magazine, Issue 11, pages 56-62 ?https://www.thepolyglotmagazine.com/issues-and-chapbooks/yongsum

·?????? Three poems: “I Protest,” “Girls against Misogyny,” and “Mr Daghigh,” in Prachya Review, April 2023, https://prachyareview.com/2023/05/02/poems-by-banoo-zan/

·?????? Poem, “Dead Metaphor,” in: The New Quarterly, Issue 166, Spring 2023, page 108?

·?????? Article based on an interview with me in the Gauntlet by Ansharah Shakil https://thegauntlet.ca/2023/04/18/banoo-zans-upcoming-calgary-performance-explores-intersections-and-identity-in-poetry/

·?????? Poem, “Witness,” in: The Stroll of Poets Anthology 2023, page 84

·?????? Interview for Life outside the Box Podcast, Episode 9: The Power of Poetry, Hosts: Anny Kernya and Asante Haughton, Inspire Magazine, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGxRY63eGXc

·?????? Feature Article/ Essay, “Which Women’s Rights?” in: Inspire Magazine, April/May 2023 Issue, https://www.kbiinspires.com/which-womens-rights

·?????? Poetry translation, “Birth of a Girl,” by Fatema Akhtar, in Word City Literary Journal, January 2023, https://wordcitylit.ca/2023/01/23/birth-of-a-girl-a-poem-by-fatema-akhtar-translated-by-banoo-zan/

·?????? Essay, “Cannons, Tanks, Machine Guns: Islamophobia and Freedom of Speech,” for the column, Why Am I Telling You This?, in: Westword: Magazine of the Writers’ Guild of Alberta, January-March 2023, Volume 43, Number 1, pages 3-4, https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/cannons-tanks-machine-guns-islamophobia-freedom-speech-b%C3%A4noo-zan

·?????? Poem, “Dawn,” translated into Chinese by Anna Yin in Live Encounters:? https://liveencounters.net/2023-le-pw/01-january-le-pw-english-chinese-edition-2023/banoo-zan-dawn/

·?????? Poem: “?rash,” in: Verse Afire: A Bi-Annual Publication of The Ontario Poetry Society, I. B. Iskov Editor & Publisher, I. S. S. N. 1715-0280, January 2023

?

B?noo Zan