For Ari Honarvar, poetry is a potent inheritance. It remembers, connects, and casts vision for the future. But it took her time to embrace poetry’s transformative power.
In Honarvar’s native Iran, the practice of weaving Sufi verses by poets like Rumi throughout ordinary conversation is commonplace. When she immigrated to the United States as a teenager, Honarvar was elated to be able to sing and dance freely — a privilege not afforded to girls in Iran under the Islamist regime’s strict interpretation of Sharia law — and for a time she gave up the practice of reciting the poetry that had previously flowed off her tongue so seamlessly.
Honarvar eventually rediscovered the power of poetry — a story she tells on this episode — and she now weaves the art forms of poetry and dance for the sake of collective healing. Poetry puts her mind at ease, Honarvar explains, while dance is “fuel for resilience.” She generously shares her passion for art that transforms by dancing with refugees in Mexico; joining her voice to that of other Iranian women in the Woman, Life, Freedom movement; and by sharing the poetry that lives in her spirit with anyone who has ears to listen.
Woven throughout this interview are breathtaking recitations of Rumi’s poetry in Farsi and English. I hope you’ll take a moment to pause and receive this conversation as the exquisite gift it is.
About Ari:
Ari Honarvar is the founder of Rumi with a View, dedicated to building bridges between the arts, social justice, and well-being. She dances with refugees and facilitates Resilience through Joy workshops on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Her words have been featured in The Guardian, The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, and elsewhere. She is the author of the critically acclaimed novel A Girl Called Rumi and the bestselling oracle deck, Rumi’s Gift.
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Ari notes in this episode that she generally recites Rumi’s poetry to English speakers, since fellow Sufi poet Hafiz is very difficult to translate. However, she commends Hafiz's Little Book of Life as an admirable effort to do this nearly impossible thing. She wrote the book’s forward.
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