Give Voice and Vote – Iranian American Author Nominated for One Book, One San Diego Selection
By Majid Roshanger
July 14, 2011, San Diego, CA-Iranian American Zohreh Ghahremani’s Sky of Red Poppies is one of three books currently nominated for One Book, One San Diego. One Book, One San Diego, a partnership between KPBS and the San Diego Public Library, will soon choose between three books that will contend for the public vote to be chosen as the next One Book, One San Diego selection. The winning book will be read by San Diegans throughout the next year.
Sky of Red Poppies, which illustrates the late 1960’s time period that led to 1979 revolution in Iran, is an important novel for all Iranian Americans to read. The story uses poetic prose to illustrate life in Iran during the late 1960’s and the story feels real. The novel emphasizes themes of culture, politics and the redeeming power of friendships. Roya, the daughter of a prominent family, is envious of the fierce independence of her religious classmate Shireen. But Shireen has secrets of her own. Together, Roya and Shireen contend with becoming the women they want to be and, in doing so, make decisions that will cause their tragic undoing.
I highly encourage voting for Zohreh Ghahremani in the One Book, One San Diego competition. The contest will influence readers across this major city to read one book and learn together. By voting for SKY OF RED POPPIES, you are voting for Americans to learn more about Iranians. Her win would be a huge accomplishment for the Iranian American community nationwide, as readers would be introduced to our rich culture, minus the trappings of media and partisan politics.
Ms. Sharnoush Parsipour, the renowned Persian novelist, has praised Sky of Red Poppies in her recent review of the book published in The Persian Book Review (Spring issue, 2011). I second her praise and urge your readers to vote for Zohreh Ghahremani’s novel and to put this book in their reading list this summer. It will make them proud to be Iranian American.
To cast a vote for Zohreh Ghaharemani’s Sky of Red Poppies in the One Book, One San Diego book selection contest, please click here.
To read more about the author please click here.
Majid Roshangar is editor of The Persian Book Review: A Quarterly on Arts and Literature, which promotes Iranian diasporic literature and Persian literature of migration. His extensive translations and writings include Across the Desert (Obour az matn barahout); Objectivity in Social Research; Christopher Columbus; The World of Stars; Revolution of Hope; An Anthology of Modern Persian Poetry (with Frough Frokhzad); and Irano-Iraqi War: Historical Background of the Conflict (in English). He has a BA from University of Tehran, Iran, an MA from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and a post-graduate degree from Oxford University, UK.
