ALA KHAKI, Poet
"Capturing Beauty II:"
“Veil, The Well, The Fire”
Ala Khaki is an Iranian-American poet, residing in Amherst, New Hampshire, with his beloved
wife and favorite poet Melanie Chicoine. He is the author of four poetry collections, two in Farsi,
“Sahar Khani” (Calling the Dawn) and “Az Inja Ta Tolou” (From Here to Sunrise),
and two in English, Return (BookSurge Publishing) and
“Remembrances—A Poetic Memoir of Life as aPolitical Prisoner in Iran” (Bee Monk Press).
Imprisoned twice in the infamous Evin Prison in Iran during the Shah’s regime for participation
in the student democracy movement, Ala fled to America in 1978, following a tip from a military
relative that he was on a death squad list. That same year all copies of his first book,
From Hereto Sunrise, were destroyed by the Shah’s Secret Police.
Ala Khaki’s poems have appeared in Iranian literary journals including
The Book Review, Par (Feather), and Thought and Imagination, and in American poetry periodicals
and anthologies, including Worcester Review, The Poets’ Touchstone,
the 2010 Poets’ Guide to New Hampshire,and Covid Spring.
In 1981, Ala Khaki was the subject of a documentary film titled “Resident Exile” by the
celebrated documentary filmmaker and director Ross McElwee. He was a feature at the New
England Poetry Conference in 2004 and 2005, and appeared in 2007 and 2012 on the
NewHampshire Poet Showcase, a project of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.
He served as an officer on the Board of Directors of the Poetry Society of New Hampshire, and as
its president from 2020 to 2022. He continues to read throughout New England.
wife and favorite poet Melanie Chicoine. He is the author of four poetry collections, two in Farsi,
“Sahar Khani” (Calling the Dawn) and “Az Inja Ta Tolou” (From Here to Sunrise),
and two in English, Return (BookSurge Publishing) and
“Remembrances—A Poetic Memoir of Life as aPolitical Prisoner in Iran” (Bee Monk Press).
Imprisoned twice in the infamous Evin Prison in Iran during the Shah’s regime for participation
in the student democracy movement, Ala fled to America in 1978, following a tip from a military
relative that he was on a death squad list. That same year all copies of his first book,
From Hereto Sunrise, were destroyed by the Shah’s Secret Police.
Ala Khaki’s poems have appeared in Iranian literary journals including
The Book Review, Par (Feather), and Thought and Imagination, and in American poetry periodicals
and anthologies, including Worcester Review, The Poets’ Touchstone,
the 2010 Poets’ Guide to New Hampshire,and Covid Spring.
In 1981, Ala Khaki was the subject of a documentary film titled “Resident Exile” by the
celebrated documentary filmmaker and director Ross McElwee. He was a feature at the New
England Poetry Conference in 2004 and 2005, and appeared in 2007 and 2012 on the
NewHampshire Poet Showcase, a project of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.
He served as an officer on the Board of Directors of the Poetry Society of New Hampshire, and as
its president from 2020 to 2022. He continues to read throughout New England.
Veil Not
Unveil your rage, my sister, unveil the night. Let the old cloaked men who declared heaven is beneath your feet, while they put you in a dark well, see your might. Unveil your rage, my sister, unveil the night Set this forsaken land alight, with a bonfire of veils from Caspian to the Gulf— the sole remedy to this blight. Unveil your rage, my sister, unveil the night. Dispatch them to hell. Let your fire purge their scourge once and for all. Unveil your rage, my sister, unveil the night Upon the ashes with bricks of justice, mortar of love, colors of hope, we shall build a new citadel. Unveil your rage, my sister, unveil the night. Ala Khaki November 10, 2022 ©Ala Khaki, 2022 |
"Veil, The Well, The Fire,” Persian script
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