Firoozeh Dumas, author of Laughing Without an Accent and best selling title Funny in Farsi

Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain

firoozeh — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:21:11 +0000

I wish there had been wind when I went to Oklahoma last July. Thankfully, I missed the real heat wave. It was only 105 degrees. It had been 110 degrees the day before.

But like all my travels, it wasn’t the weather that left a lasting impression, but the people. I met very kind, interesting and interested people. Among them, Prof. Scott Lamascus and Carla Walker, who interviewed me (for three hours!) for the Oklahoma Humanities Council Magazine. This is, by far, my favorite print interview of all time. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, and want to write a letter to the editor of the magazine, please do so! They will publish the letters in the next issue of the magazine.

http://www.okhumanities.org/Websites/ohc/images/Magazines/winter_2012/Firoozeh_Dumas.pdf

Enjoy the article, and the pictures. (Cut and paste the above link.) Notice that no one rocks a bouffant like my great second-grade teacher, Mrs. Sandberg!

Cheers,

Firoozeh

Council of Graduate Schools

firoozeh — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:28:36 +0000

Last week, I was the speaker for the LaPidus Luncheon at the Council of Graduate Schools Annual Meeting in Arizona. I was a last minute replacement for another speaker who could not make it. This the first time I have ever replaced anyone with a 24-hour notice. We speakers are a surprisingly hardy bunch. We almost never miss a lecture but in this case, I found myself on an airplane less than 24 hours after being invited.

What a fantastic group! I spoke for 700 deans and provosts of graduate programs in the US and abroad. That’s right. 700 PhD’s in one room. They were simply the best audience! No texting, and they got every single joke. From now on, I shall require PhD’s at all my talks.

I also had a chance to talk with the Associate Provost for Graduate Studies at Texas A & M. As some of you know, my father was a Fulbright Scholar there in 1953. That year changed his life. I am living proof that education benefits not just the graduate but future generations as well. Education is simply the best investment any society can make. Have you ever met anyone who regretted having an education?

-Firoozeh

Choo choo!

firoozeh — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:48:42 +0000

I’m getting ready to go to Williams College and Hilbert College. I’m excited for so many reasons…but get this, to go from Williamstown, MA to Hamburg, NY, I must travel by train. Remember those Agatha Christie novels where Poirot travels by train? Well that’s what I’m envisioning. I have never traveled by train in the US before and that is the only image in my mind. I’m also envisioning beautiful autumn leaves as I look out the train window. Am I expecting too much? Stay tuned!

By the way, if you live near Buffalo, join me on Oct. 13 at Hilbert College’s Swan Hall Auditorium at 7:30pm. It’s free and open to the public.

In the meantime, have you read a good book lately? If so, join me on Facebook and let me know the title.

Cheers,

Firoozeh

Links to videos from Aspen Summer Words 2011

firoozeh — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 03:33:35 +0000

Since so many of you could not join me in Aspen this past summer, here’s the next best thing: video links. To get you in the proper mood, you must envision beautiful green mountains, blue skies, crisp air and a whole bunch of physically fit people all around you. (There are no out-of-shape people in Aspen. I think they are forced to relocate.)

My Interview with Mona Eltahawy

My Interview with Khaled Hosseini

Firoozeh Dumas emcees My Middle East With Mona Eltahawy, Rabih Alameddine, Assaf Gavron, Daniyal Mueenuddin, Reza Aslan, and Khaled Hosseini

Let’s build some bridges…

firoozeh — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:20:41 +0000

I don’t normally respond to daily events on my website but the horrific events in Norway have gotten me thinking…For those of you who have been listening to or reading the eloquent and thought provoking words of Jan Egeland, Director of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, it is interesting to note that he used to live at International House at UC Berkeley. I can’t help but think what would have happened to Anders Breivik if he had once lived in such a place. I used to live at International House and it is the type of place where having a lunch in the cafeteria means sitting down with “the other”… whoever that may be for you. Stereotypes do not last long at International House; in fact, they are broken constantly through simple conversation.
It is always easier to destroy bridges than to build them. Here’s hoping that the Norwegian bridge builders far outnumber the destroyers.

Aspen Summer Words Literary Festival

firoozeh — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 18:14:01 +0000

I just returned from the Aspen Summer Words Literary Festival and to use a word that I normally try to avoid, it was AMAZING.

First of all, how often do writers have a chance to meet other writers? Writing is a solitary pursuit. It’s me, my computer and well, that’s it. So you can imagine what a treat it is to meet other writers, especially ones from other countries.

Mona Eltahawy was ON FIRE. If you do not know who she is, look her up on YouTube right now and join her Facebook and Twitter page. (She tweets like every 9 minutes so you will learn a lot.)

Khaled Hosseini was his usual self…adorable. He’s working on a third book and we all look forward to reading it. (By “we” I mean me and thirty million other people.)

Assaf Gavron…my new favorite Israeli writer. His book ALMOST DEAD will blow your mind, no pun intended.

Rabih Alameddine’s bestseller THE HAKAWATI is out in paperback and if you have not read it yet, RUN to the store and buy it. Holy, moly, I would pay to have reviews like that.

I finally had a chance to meet Reza Aslan, and yes, he is really smart, cute and witty. He has a bunch of projects in the pipeline, a media mogul in the making. He is our own Rupert Murdoch, but in a good way.

Elinor Lipman…if you like my books, you will LOVE hers. Come to think of it, I just love Elinor. She is completely amusing, like a one-woman show that you could watch for hours.

Colum McCann received the Aspen Prize for Literature. How is it that Ireland produces such fascinating writers? It turns out that Colum was close friends with my other favorite Irishman, the late, great Frank McCourt. Colum had to leave the festival early because he had to give a speech for the president of Ireland. I’ve heard that excuse before.

I also met two writers whose work I have not yet read, but now I will. Derek Green and Randall Kenan…remember those names and if they ever have a reading in your area, go. Their talent and warmth will win you over, or I will personally refund your money.

If you are ever in Aspen, make sure to drop by the Nugget Gallery. It’s a small photography gallery full of soul.

Lest you think my life is all ritzy, glitzy with trips to Aspen where I get to hang out with fascinating people, let me just say that I am now looking at a pile of laundry the size of Mt. Olympus, an empty refrigerator that needs to be filled and a house that needs to be cleaned. Yes, mom is home.

Join me in Aspen for the Writers Conference!

firoozeh — Tue, 03 May 2011 23:31:06 +0000

If you are planning your summer vacation, and want to do something fun, memorable AND educational, join me June 19-24 for Aspen Summer Words. The theme this year is Middle East and there is an amazing line-up of writers participating. I will be interviewing my friend Khaled Hosseini or Mr. Afghanistan, as I call him. To see who else will be there, here’s the link:

http://www.aspenwritersfoundation.org/www/aspensummerwords.html

Hope to see you there!

Happy new year! It’s 1390!

firoozeh — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:59:59 +0000

No, this is not an April Fool’s joke. Iranians just celebrated the new year and we’re partying like it’s 1390, because it is. Here’s my NPR interview about the new year:

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/18/134656808/Spring-Equinox-Signals-Persian-New-Year

Also, April is National Poetry Month and NPR’s Tell Me More asked its listeners to write poems on Twitter (140 characters or less). I sent one in and it was rejected. It was about Ahmadinejad. (You’re asking yourself, “What rhymes with Ahmadinejad?” Nothing.

But my second poem was selected for April 5. Here it is:

http://www.npr.org/series/135123884/muses-and-metaphor

Keep reading and writing!

Cheers,
Firoozeh

More thoughts about Germany.

firoozeh — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 01:00:12 +0000

As most of you know from reading my Facebook page, I had a great time at the Munich International School. I did, however, find myself in a state of panic meeting so many kids who spoke 3, 4 or 5 languages fluently. What advantages they will have in life!

Do you what else I noticed in Germany… how SLIM everyone looked. Then I realized that they weren’t slim, they were normal weight. The Germans are certainly more active but perhaps more importantly, their portion sizes are small compared to the US, or normal as others call that. Portion sizes are HUGE in the US! I don’t know about you but I eat what’s in front me so I really appreciated their smaller portions. It was so easy to eat healthfully. The croissant at the breakfast buffet was the size of two fingers. Speaking of breakfast buffet, there was an abundance of fruit salad, and sliced grapefruits and pineapple which everybody ate. There were all sorts of cheeses and meats but unlike the American breakfasts I see in hotels, there was no parade of starches…waffles, pancakes, muffins, bagels. The only starch was fresh bread and baked goods, all of them what we call in the US “miniature.”

Now that I am back in the US, I am trying to remember those healthful portion sizes. I hope my eyes do not re-adjust to all things jumbo, which reminds me…I need to go to Costco.

Frau Dumas says…

firoozeh — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 02:50:02 +0000

I just returned from a visit to the Munich International School, a true global village. It seemed like every staff member was from one country, married to somebody from another country, and they had lived in other countries. Typical example: the American teacher, married to the Italian woman who had grown up in Africa who were raising trilingual sons. One of my tour guides at the school, Marie, was a German high school student fluent in Mandarin. Did I mention she spoke English fluently? Everyone in Germany spoke English! My fellow Americans, we must start teaching our children a second language while minds are young and sponge-like! Perhaps one day, when the US is not spending so much on wars, we can spend money on language acquisition. Can you imagine if every American high school graduate were fluent in another language? Now I know that many people feel that English is the most important language and why should we bother learning any other? Yes, English is an important language but learning other languages opens doors to us that otherwise remain shut. I have never heard anyone say, “I regret speaking more than one language.” Knowing other languages is always a good thing, plus it enables you to order food safely when traveling abroad. Otherwise, how would you know that head cheese is not cheese?

Keep reading, and keep eating head cheese, if that is what you like.

-Frau Dumas