Bøker av Maryam Daftari

The art and philosophy of kintsugi which means "golden joinery," teaches us that even if we have survived illness and difficult times such as the pandemic, we can still heal the "brokenness" in a manner that transforms us into something we are not afraid to celebrate. In this delicate art, breaks are not hidden but highlighted by piecing the broken parts together with a mixture of lacquer and gold or silver powder. This ethos mirrors the path we travel to mend what may have been hurt in us, filling the cracks left by trials with radiant bonds stronger than before. Like a warrior who emerges mightier from battle, we see in this collection of poems, the journey from brokenness to healing as one always bound by the luminous threads of love, caring, and hope. This perspective is related to the philosophy of wabi-sabi, which emphasizes finding beauty in simplicity and within life's imperfections. It encourages us to accept the natural cycle of growth and aging, and to appreciate the transience of life - celebrating the way things are, rather than craving for how they should be. Within this framework of thought, each tale, each poem, becomes a testament to the unyielding power of compassion, hope and love as "the golden elements" mending our fractured world. It is seeing the blessings still shining through our lives, recognizing that there is always hope on healing's road, and a beauty that emerges from embracing imperfections while celebrating ways of coping through caring and resilience.Maryam Daftari is a retired lecturer in political science and a China specialist. She is a poet, pianist, and award winning nature photographer. Maryam has published three books and over 25 articles on Chinese affairs, has lectured on International Relations and Comparative Politics, specifically on Chinese Government and Politics at several universities for over three decades. She started writing poetry as an undergraduate, winning several awards. Maryam's poems have been chosen for publication in many of the annual editions of Lyrical Iowa and San Diego Poetry Annual (2013-2023), in Stand Forth and A Step Between, publications of Iowa's Society of Great River Poets. Her poems have also appeared in an anthology of San Diego poets entitled Sundays at Liberty Station. Maryam is the author of 2 poetry collections, Like Magic but Real and Haiku Workbook. Her favorite poets are Rumi and Mary Oliver.

This Haiku Workbook is unique; a handbook in summary-form on haiku, as well as a workbook that takes the reader or writer interested in this poetic style on an abbreviated trip through haiku history to become an active participant in the art of writing. It leads the aspiring poet on a journey through the power of enumerable "present moments" captured with the beauty of images of Nature alongside each haiku. Vivid photos taken and carefully curated by the author - from an Iowa squirrel munching on an apple or a San Diego hummingbird hovering with its rainbow hues on a flower. This makes the process easily accessible, interesting, and fun - especially for children, young adults, or those preferring a concise guideline for writing haiku. It's all there - a three-in-one: pictures, haiku, and space to write for instant, active participation. The workbook takes the reader through the process of writing step by step, using samples of Japanese and contemporary haiku, encouraging revisions to express the image, and placing feeling into words that capture the beauty of the moment. The Haiku Workbook serves as a chaperon to the haiku process; to inspire aspiring poets to use the photo or conjure up images of their own to express their thoughts. This gives the new author a feeling of being within the scene of the photo, a one-ness with Nature, evoking feelings and memories in the moment, while composing the haiku.