PageOneLit.com:
Where
did
you
grow
up and
was
reading
and
writing
a part
of
your
life?
Who
were
your
earliest
influences
and
why?
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:
grow
up in
the
city
of
Darab
in the
province
of
Fars
in
today's
Iran.
Yes,
reading was
my
first
love
in
life.
I
had
inherited
the
love
of
reading
and
writing
from
my
father.
Both
of my
parents
were
good
readers
and
good
examples
to
follow.
My
father
subscribed
all
the
available
weekly
magazines
and my
parents
read
them
often.
PageOneLit.com:
Why do
you
write?
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:
I love
to
write.
You
wake
up in
the
middle
of the
night
and
have
some
thing
in
your
chest
and
nothing
calms
you
down
but
writing
about
it.
PageOneLit.com:
Who
and/or
what
have
been
your
biggest
influences
with
regard
to
your
writing
and
why?
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:
I give
the
credit
to
both
my
father,
whose
hand
writing
and
composition
was
the
talk
of his
friends,
and my
Uncle,
whose
poems
were
published
in
Iran's
weekly
magazines.
My
father
and my
uncle
worked
with
me on
my
writings,
I
remember
distinctly
one
day
when I
was
submerged
in one
of the
novels
I was
reading,
that
my
father
told
me you
can
create
the
same
novel
If you
want
to one
day. I
was
eleven
at the
time.
I
thought
about
it and
then I
started
writing
my
first
short
story
and
took
it to
my
school.
I
was so
pleased
to see
my
school
mates
read
it and
passed
it
along.
That
was
the
beginning
of my
writing.
Ironically
a
generation
later
I got
the
same
bout
of
encouragement
from a
close
family
member.
I was
shy to
write
anything
in
English
since
it is
my
second
language.
But my
daughter, Sheila
Mahoutchian,
gave
me the
courage
to
write,
and
she
inspired
the
creation
of
this
book.
She
painted
a
picture
of the
day my
book
would
be
published
and
asked
me how
I felt
about
it, as
if it
really
happened.
This
inspiration
was
what
stirred
the
creation
of
"Persian
Dreams"
PageOneLit.com:
Tell
us
about
"Persian
Dreams."
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:
Like
American
Gone
with
the
Wind
and
Russian’s
War
and
Peace;Persian
Dreams
combines
the
sweetness
of
romance
with
the
bitterness
of
revelation
and
war.
This
story
is
told
from
the
unique
perspective
of a
woman
between
lands.
It
shows
the
inward
nature
and
inside
perspectives
of the
people
of
Iran,
specifically
the
women,
leading
up to
and
directly
after
the
revolution
of
1978.
This
perspective
is
unique
because
we
usually
get a
picture
of
this
from
the
outside,
from
the
American
or
foreign
point
of
view,
but
here
we see
the
situation
from
the
inside.
The
historic
lesson
is
only
further
enhanced
by the
sweet
romantic
events
of a
family
through
three
generations.
Based
on
mostly
autobiographical
events,
this
novel
is
both
sweetly
nostalgic
and
simultaneous
educational.
It
opens
the
door
to the
inner
workings
of
Iranians
and
their
history,
even
while
giving
us
pretty
images
and
poetry
to
dance
on the
frames
of our
minds.
Its
uniqueness
lays
in
this
duality.
PageOneLit.com:
Where
did
the
influence
come
from
to
write
this
book?
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:
The
story
was
always
in my
mind.
I
lived
through
it, I
had
friends
that
lived
through
this,
and I
often
listened
to my
father's
and
grandmother
generation's
stories
of the
times
that
they
lived
through.
This
is the
story
of
Iranian's
last
100
years,
and
what
it has
lived
through
to get
to
where
it is
now.
My
idea
was
that
if
there
was a
way to
record
it, in
the
way of
a
story,
I
could
reach
both
the
younger
generation
of
Iranians
in
America,
and
Americans
themselves
to
educate
them
somehow
on
where
we
have
come
from
and
what
has
led up
to the
current
situation.
PageOneLit.com: In
"Persian
Dreams"
your
plot
spans
one
generation
to the
next.
As one
reviewer
says,
'Persian
Dreams
'
"...offers
great
insights
into
the
lives
of
women
in
this
society
and
how
the
changes
in the
political
climate
have
affected
women's
lives
and
roles
over
the
years."
How
much
research
did
you
have
to do
regarding
Persia/Iran
history
to
write
"Persian
Dreams"?
How
did
you
research?
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:
The
study
of
history
always
attracted
me and
all my
years
of
living
I am
reading
historical
events.
My
home
land
history
is
very
long
and
tumultuous.
I was
reading
frantically
all
the
books
I
could
find
for
the
last
100
years.
I also
have
read
many
different
books
which
were
written
during
and
after
the revolution.
My
life
in
Iran
and
the
two
research
papers
I
wrote
while
I was
a
student
in
Pahlavi
University
all
contributed
to
this
work.
I also
read
and
translated
several
poems
from
the
Persian
Language
and
tailored
them
to
this
book.
It
took
me
three
years
of
research
and
writing.
PageOneLit.com:
What
did
you as
the
writer
learn
from
writing
"Persian
Dreams?"
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:Two
things:
That
the
first
page
is
important
and
you
must
find
the
right
publisher.
It
does
not
matter
if you
write
a
great
story
but it
does
matter
if you
have a
great
agent. I
also
learn that
there
is
much
to
writing
a book
besides
research,
and
writing.
Promotions
are
the
fun
part.
PageOneLit.com:
In
"Persian
Dreams"
your
plot
covers
a
culture
that
has
gone
through
changes,
but
the
past
continues
to
inform
the
present.
Discuss
these
changes
and
the
unchanging
of
cultural
practices
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:
The
women
gained
the
rights
to
vote
and
wear
what
they
like.
The
arrival
of the
modern
schools
and
the
opportunity
for
women
to
work
in the
work
place
about
50
years
ago in
the
Iran's
traditional
culture
and
then
again
the
arrivals
of
revolution
and
the
changes
in
the
modern
society
created
by the
last
ruler
all
contributed
to the
change
in the
cultural
practices.
I felt
it was
necessary
to
show
the
multitude
of
views
on the
matters
that
shook
the
nation
through
some
of the
most
important
times
leading
up to
and
directly
after
the
Revolution.
I
wanted
to
show
that
Iran
is not
as
one-dimensional
as
people
like
to
think.
No
country
is
really.
Especially
during
a
period
of
political
unrest,
many
varying
view
points
exist
around
what
is
happening
during
these
tumultuous
times.
The
differences
in
characters
show
us all
the
different
experiences
that
were
present
throughout
these
times.
The
characters
express
experiences
that
women
underwent,
characters
that
men
had to
deal
with,
that
young
people
had to
deal
with,
in
regard
to all
the
pride
of
their
parents
and
the
culture
of
their
people.
The
characters
themselves
tell a
story
that
has
long
gone
untold.
PageOneLit.com:
Discuss
the
women
in
"Persian
Dreams"
and
how
they
must
struggle
to
find
their
place
in
Islam
but
still
be
free
to
find/follow
their
own
dreams.
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:
It
depends
on the
woman's
dreams
and
the
country
in
which
they
are
living.
For
Noosha,
she
was
able
to
achieve
her
dreams
and
have a
place
in a
Islamic
country
since
her
dreams
was to
continue
her
higher
education
and
earn
her
living
by
working.
This
is not
against
Islam
so
there
was no
contradiction
between
the
two.
However
if a
woman's
dream
is to
be
equal
to men
which
Islam
obviously
prohibits
then
there
is no
way to
have
both.
I can
not
wear
what I
like
to
wear
as a
woman
and
have a
place
in
Islam
it is
impossible.
Of
course,
there
are so
many
different
issues
which
have
the
same
nature.
PageOneLit.com:
"Persian
Dreams"
is
'well
paced'
Which
part
of the
writing
process
do you
have
the
most
difficulty
--
Plot
or
Character?
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:I
think
the
plot
was
the
hardest
part.
I did
not
know
to
choose
the
plot
style
similar
to the
fairy
tales
as Old
Persian
way of
writing
or
write
the
events
as a
flashback.
Finally
I
chose
the
fairy
tale
to go
with
the
name.
PageOneLit.com:
What
do you
hope
readers
walk
away
with
after
reading
“Persian
Dreams"
?
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:
I hope
that
they
will
be
enchanted.
The
story
carries
along
in
that
meandering
way
that
folklore
storytellers
are
famous
for,
the
images
and
characters
have a
cinema
graphic
quality
to
them.
One
feels
uplifted
by the
victories
and
crushed
by the
terrible
circumstances
and
drama
that
the
characters
undergo.
We
share
their
pain
and
anxieties,
we
identify
with
their
various
situations.
In
short,
I
believe
that
readers
will
be
quite
touched
by the
simple
and
honest
language
of
this
endearing
tale
of
trial
and
tribulation
of a
people
under
a
shifting
and
unsteady
political
landscape.
PageOneLit.com: "Persian
Dreams" would
make a
great
film
--
Anything
in the
works?
Who in
Hollywood
would
you
select
to
play
your
characters?
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:Not
yet. I
think
Susan
Sarandon
and
Sam
Sheppard
would
be
good
candidates
or
Indeed
I’ve
thought
a
great
deal
about
the
actors
who
would
play
the
major
roles.
I have
given
this
much
thought.
Here
are my
suggestions:
John
Robis
Annette
Benning,
Sir
William—Kevin
Bacon,
Master
Weaver
Isaac—Peter
Falk,
Lady
Rosalie—Isabella
Rossellini,
Dr.
Evelyn
Thayer—Sigourney
Weaver,
The
Fool—Danny
Devito,
Sir
Clarence
Dudley—John
Lithgow,
Sister
Agatha—Kathy
Bates,
Sir
Jeremiah
Huff—Morgan
Freeman,
Archbishop
Claude—Ron
Perlman,
Troubadour—Johnny
Depp,
Seer
Delphine—Cloris
Leachman.
PageOneLit.com:
You
have
written
short
stories
and
poems
as
well
-- Is
there
a
literary
genre/form
you
prefer?
As
a
writer/author
discuss
each
form
Poetry
-Short
Story
-
Novel
from
your
point
of
view
and
what
each
form
gives
back
to you
- Is
there
one
genre
you
enjoy
than
the
other?
Why or
Why
not?
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:
I
think
poetry
is
harder
to
write
than
short
stories
or the
novel.
I can
write
them
only
when I
am
feeling
a deep
passion
for
something
very
important
in my
life,
however
poetry
and
short
story
are
one
dimensional
and it
is
written
quickly
and
often
does
not
need
any
research.
For
Novel
you
need
to
have
some
knowledge
and some
information
about
your
subject
to
write
about. Yes,
I
prefer
a
short
story.
This
gives
my
diverse
idea a
chance
to
wonder
around.
It is
quick.
I see
or
feel
something
and
that
is
enough
to
write them
in the
form
of
short
story.
Short
stories
also
does
not
need
the
intense
feeling
the
poetry
need
to
have
so it
gets
created
easily
and
effortlessly.
PageOneLit.com:
What's
next?
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:I
have
hundred
ideas
and am
working
on
them.
One is
the
work
of a
great
poet
that I
love
and
like
to translate
his
poems
into
English.
The
other
is
another
Novel
which
is
about
a
western
woman
in the
west
with
traditional
ideas
and
her
reaction
to her
children's
choices
of
homosexuality
and
interracial
marriage.
I have
the
idea
and
doing
research
on it.
PageOneLit.com:
What
was
the
last
book
you
read?
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:
I read
a lot
but
the
last
books
were
Dan
Brown's
Da
vinci
Code
to see
what
made
this
book
so
popular.
I also
read
Shirin
Ebadi's
Iran
Awakening
PageOneLit.com:
Do
you
have
any
hobbies?
What
are
they?
How do
they
enhance
your
writing?
Maryam
Tabibzadeh:
Beside
writing
I love
reading
and
gardening.
Reading
gives
me the
scope
and
information
for my
mind
to
develop my
new
writing
projects
and
gardening
is a
tool
to
purify
my
soul
and
make
me
ready
to
write.
Q/A with
Maryam
Tabibzadeh
Posted on
Tuesday, May
09 @ 10:57:52
PDT by ashena
Magazine:
Ashena:
What was
your goal in
writing this
book? Maryam :I
want the
world to
know what we
as a nation
have
suffered
from the
changes that
Iran has
experienced
in the last
30 years. I
wanted to
show the
story from
the inside,
from the
belly
within. I
believe that
we as a
nation have
suffered
more than
any other
nation from
this inner
turbulence,
and that
this
information
isn’t
finding its
way to the
public in
the right
ways. But
more than
this, and
more than
anything, I
want our
second-generation
Iranian
youth, the
young adults
that now
live here to
know where
they come
from, how we
got here,
that we have
good and bad
within the
course of
historic
events. They
need to know
that we have
a civilized
past, but
that we also
have much
that needs
to be
changed in
the future.
Armed with
this
knowledge,
they may be
able to step
up and be
instrumental
in the
process of
these
changes.
Ashena:Where
did you get
the idea for
your book? Maryam :
The story
was always
in my mind.
I lived
through it,
I had
friends that
lived
through
this, and I
often
listened to
my father’s
and
grandmother’s
stories of
the times
that they
lived
through.
This is the
story of
Iran’s
last 100
years, and
what it has
lived
through to
get to where
it is now.
My idea was
that if
there was a
way to
record it,
in the way
of a story,
I could
reach both
the younger
generation
of Iranians
in America,
and
Americans
themselves
to educate
them somehow
on where we
come from
and what has
led up to
the current
situation.
Ashena:What
inspired you
to create
characters
that are so
different
from each
other? Are
they based
on people
you know or
composites? Maryam :
Many of the
characters
are based on
people I
encountered
along the
way in real
life. I have
made this
book a
fiction to
protect
their
identities
and to allow
some freedom
in
expressing
the course
of events as
I
experienced
them. But in
addition to
this, I felt
it was
necessary to
show the
multitude of
views on the
matters that
shook the
nation
through some
of the most
important
times
leading up
to and
directly
after the
Revolution.
I wanted to
show that
Iran is not
as
one-dimensional
as people
like to
think, no
country is
really, and
especially
during a
period of
political
unrest, many
varying view
points exist
around what
is happening
during these
kinds of
tumultuous
times. The
differences
in
characters
show us all
the
different
experiences
that were
present
throughout
all of these
times. They
express to
us
experiences
that women
underwent,
that men had
to deal
with, that
young people
had to deal
with, with
regard to
all the
pride of
their
parents and
the culture
of their
people. The
characters
themselves
tell a story
that has
long gone
untold.
Ashena:Do
you think a
lot of young
females in
Iran are
like Nosha,
who is
unwilling to
be debased
by her
government
and the
society in
which she
lives? Maryam :
Nosha
represents
an ideology
in women
that was
brought
about by the
westernization
efforts of
Mohamad Reza
Shah, and
this
ideology
still exists
strongly in
the mothers
of the young
women that
you mention
here. I
would argue
that these
young women
are even
stronger and
more
aggressive
than their
mothers,
because
Nosha’s
generation
fought very
hard to
achieve
certain
freedoms and
rights, and
are not
going to
give up
simply
because the
laws have
changed.
Ashena:When
you discuss
the
rumblings
before the
revolution,
you have a
detailed
account of
what many in
the nation
were
probably
thinking at
that time.
Did you
remember all
that from
your own
experience? Maryam :
Yes, I drew
a lot from
my own
memories and
experiences,
and that of
those who
were close
to me at the
time.
