*In Response

After a long journey

and much anticipation

I finally came to your door.

My heart was beating fast

as I reached for the bell.

I could see your shadow

behind the stained glass door.

You finally opened the door.

I was all smile and happy

I offered you the flowers

which I had picked with my own hands.

and then .......

you took a big bucket of water

and splashed me all over.

For a few moment, I was in shock

as I stood there flower in hand

and drenched.

I smiled in disbelief

and then I could not stop laughing.

You smiled and invited me in.

But I didn't know what to expect next

so I turned around and kept on going.

With love,

Ramses

*Dream

Dear Par-va-neh,

Here is a bit of my poetry.

I usually don't share my poetry.

So you're very special.

Ramses
.

You were in a great act of walking on a thin line.

The fear of falling turned you into a bird

and you flew towards the stars of understanding.

Tired of the flight in the clouds of doubts

you turned into a deer

and started running through the deserts of love.

Thirsty and never reaching the mirage

you turned into a fish.

Now you were swimming

in the vast ocean of mercy.

Through the grace of God

you were turned into an angel

carrying a chalice of light.

And you made a difference

as all things looked so clear and bright.

Ramses

4:00 AM Jan. 28, 1999

*The bobbles of life

Parvaneh jan your poem was fan-tas-tic. It was talking from my heart. Maybe it is a good time to send you one of my latest poem in English.

What a beautiful world is

The world of matter

With its striking mountains

And its green terrain

Why did I call it vile?

What a land of light

is the world of dust

with its blue sky

and its shiny stars

Why did I call it dark?

Is it because it passes so fast,

like a bobble which is beautiful and bright,

but its life is a short moment of time?

Is it because of our attachment

to these bobbles of life?

trying to get more bobbles

fighting and hating each other

for almost nought?

It still is a world of God

Just like His other worlds

Stunningly beautiful and bright

The vileness of the world of matter

is caused by me

because of my high ego and my greed

The darkness of the world of matter

is caused by me

because of my emptiness of the reality of man

Why not put our hands together

and together enjoy these bobbles of life?

It will bring joy to our hearts

if we give up our selfishness and pride.

We will relish this world together

and arrive to the next

with even more thrill and delight

love, Parvin Stanley

*Rev. Prof. June Boyce-Tillman

Parvaneh Farid has a distinctive presence expressed both through
her movement and her voice in performance.
It reflects the depth of the experiences that she has encountered
in her complex life story.

Her sound is rich, velvety and warm, merging a variety of styles
and experiences within its particular timbre.

She always performs with passion and commitment and her voice
is an instrument well suited for carrying these powerful emotions.

Rev. Prof. June Boyce-Tillman 2007

*Prof. Vaughan Grylls

The art of Parvaneh Farid celebrates the unity of
religion as expressed by Bahá’u’lláh, the all-embr
-acing religion in which Parvaneh firmly believes.

This notion of the unity of religion finds expression
in the unifying elements of her work in both a formal
and spiritual sense.

In a formal sense, creativity ignores boundaries.
Thus photography, music, dance, performance,
together with any material that can be usefully
employed, are all used as one to make powerful art
not easily forgotten.

The belief in the unity of religion grows, of course,
out of a belief in the unity of God and extend in a
notion of the unity of mankind in all its diversity.

The spiritual content in Parvaneh Farid’s work is
universal, yet it finds its home and, in deed,
ruthless suppression in Parvaneh’s native Iran.

In that ancient and historically tolerant country,
followers of Bahá’u’lláh have been systematically
persecuted for believing in, among other things,
the equality of men and women and the elimination
of prejudice.

Parvaneh Farid’s recent statements are an
impassioned and articulate rebuke to her religion’s
persecutors, in the form of eloquent and original
works of art.

“Prof. Vaughan Grylls”

*توو من هردو در فكريم ولي

Parvaneh Jan

This is a humble answer to your

Beautiful “words of the week”

Love
Shahla Gotbi

تو درفكر رد پاي زمان هستي و

كوي و برزن باريك پيري

و من در فكر مرغان قفس

آزادي از درد اسيري

تو بر چهره اي كه زمان شكسته

مي انديشي , و من بر پشت خميده

خميده اي كه هنوز جوان است و

درد بيكران ديده

تو مي بيني زمان را كه در فرار است

و من مي بينم دل افسرده ام

را كه گريزان از زمان

بيقرار است و

زندگي روحم را كرده خسته

و گوشها يم را چنان بسته

كه آواي مطرب هستي

را نمي شنوم

شتاب در پا ها يم منجمد است

و ديگر بسوي ساز مطرب نميدوم

گفتي نرد عشق را نباختي!

ولي من باختم...

تو از غم قلعه اي محكم نساختي

و من ساختم

تو روي خود را

در آينه نشنا ختي و

من وجود خود را

تو جواني را گم كردي و

من بود و نبود خود را

تو از آئينه رنجيدي و

من بر آن بخنديدم

كه اين شيشه

رفيق و يار ديرين است

وفاداري چو آئينه نديدم

تو از فردا گريزاني

نميخواهي به امروزت بماند

براي سنجش شادي

ندارم هيچ ميزاني

ولي شادم اگر فردا

خداوندم ز درگاهش نراند

كلامت راست ميباشد

كه دنيا بازي شطرنج را ماند

كه با يك جنبش بيجا

كند ماتم.....

كند ماتم اگر موئي جدا

باشم زسرحد صراطم

تو اي پروانه ي زيباي رنگين

سبك كردي دلم

از بار سنگين

به پرواز هنر مرگ زمان

گردد فراموش

هنرمند و هنر هرگز

نه پيري ميپذيرد

نه گم گردد نه خاموش

+ + + + + + +

Shahla Ghotbi (Nabilzadeh)

09/Oct/ 2007

*The Hampshire Chronicle

"Parvaneh Farid's audio-visual piece, Looking Like a God,
provokes all senses. Inside an unlit cubic room hangs,
drapes of black tulle, partially concealing a few manikins
dressed in Eastern costume.

The show begins with a recitation of the first few verses
of the book of Genesis before 1940s wartime music
is played.

During this images of women through the ages are
projected on to the many layers of netting.

They range from Marilyn Monroe to traditionally-dressed
Muslim women...

The piece is about East meeting West and the cultural
influences faced by eastern women who live in the West.

“The Hampshire Chronicle”