{"title":"Mohammad Jafar Mahallati","description":"\u003cp\u003eMohammad Jafar Mahallati is a Presidential Scholar of Religion at Oberlin College where he has taught courses on Islam, the Quran, and the Ethics of Forgiveness and Peacemaking. From 1987-1989, he served as Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations and was instrumental in brokering the peace agreement that ended the war between Iran and Iraq. He is currently working on a book project entitled \u003cem\u003eFriendship in Muslim Cultures: Theory and Practice.\u003c\/em\u003e He co-translated \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.boaeditions.org\/collections\/sohrab-sepehri\" title=\"Sohrab Sepehri\"\u003eSohrab Sepehri\u003c\/a\u003e’s selected poems, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.boaeditions.org\/collections\/translations\/products\/the-oasis-of-now\" title=\"The Oasis of Now\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Oasis of Now\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, with \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.boaeditions.org\/collections\/kazim-ali\" title=\"Kazim Ali\"\u003eKazim Ali\u003c\/a\u003e and was published by BOA Editions in 2013.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-oasis-of-now","title":"The Oasis of Now","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Oasis of Now\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis the first U.S. book publication of the works of Sohrab Sepehri (1928–1980), one of the major Iranian poets of the twentieth century. Well-versed in Buddhism, mysticism, and Western traditions, Sepehri mingled Western concepts with Eastern ones, creating a poetry unsurpassed in the history of Persian literature. In Iran, his Persian verses are often recited in public gatherings and lines from them were used as slogans by the protesters in 2009. This first full-length American volume collects poems from three of Sepehri\u003cspan\u003e’\u003c\/span\u003es most important books, including the highly acclaimed\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eWater\u003cspan\u003e’\u003c\/span\u003es Footfall\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003eBright Existence\u003cspan\u003e”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000;\"\u003e Sky, blue.\u003cbr\u003e Water, even bluer!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000;\"\u003eI am on the veranda, Rana by the pond in the garden.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000;\"\u003eShe is washing clothes.\u003cbr\u003e Leaves are trickling down.\u003cbr\u003e “What a sad season,” my mother said this morning.\u003cbr\u003e I responded, “Life is an apple best eaten unpeeled.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000;\"\u003eOur neighbor weaves at her window, humming a soft tune.\u003cbr\u003e I am reading the Vedas,\u003cbr\u003e sketching pebbles, birds, clouds—\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000;\"\u003eFull sun.\u003cbr\u003e Starlings flock,\u003cbr\u003e nasturtiums burst into blossom.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000;\"\u003eAnd me, cracking open a pomegranate I think to myself,\u003cbr\u003e “If only the seeds of the heart could be so transparent,”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000;\"\u003ewhen the juice spurts out and splashes into my eyes,\u003cbr\u003e vermilion tears trickling down.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000;\"\u003eMy mother bursts out laughing\u003cbr\u003e and Rana too.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"color: #a52a2a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"availOrange\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch6\u003ePublication Date: November 5, 2013\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-1-938160-22-6\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e© BOA Editions, Ltd. 2013\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BOA Editions, Ltd.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":8420281669,"sku":"9781938160226","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0982\/0178\/products\/THE_OASIS_OF_NOW.jpg?v=1527683598"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0982\/0178\/collections\/Mohammad_Jafar_Mahallati.jpg?v=1526054713","url":"https:\/\/shop.boaeditions.org\/collections\/mohammad-jafar-mahallati.oembed","provider":"Boa Editions","version":"1.0","type":"link"}