Mana was born in 1973 in Iran. She and her family immigrated to Sweden in 1987. She started writing poetry as a teenager and has been published in numerous Iranian publications. Her translations of Swedish literature into Farsi have also been published. Her first book of poems, If Death Had Your Lips was published in 2003. At the moment she is co-editing an anthology in Farsi of poetry by the new generation of Iranian poets in exile.

Woman Seeking Man (Persian | English)
Come What May (Persian | English)

Watch Performance Footage of Four Springs

Contemporary Iranian poetry finds its performative roots within a collaborative improvisational dynamic. Spoken text of poetry translated into English combined with traditional Persian instrumentation and improvisational style melded with jazz. Calling on dance vocabulary combining Central Asian and western movement, informed by the poetry as translated into dramatic verse. A cutting edge performance work which transcends all borders.

Music: Hafez Modirzadeh, Mohammad Nejad, royal hartigan

Dance: Aliah Najmabadi, Larissa Verduzen

Recitation: Niloufar Talebi, Ali Dadgar

Directed by: Zara Houshmand

Translations by Niloufar Talebi

Choreography: Sharlyn Sawyer of Ballet Afsaneh

Co-produced by the Translation Project and Afsaneh Art and Culture Society

Featuring the poetry of: Partow Nooriala (USA), Majid Naficy (USA), Ziba Karbassi (UK), Abbas Saffari (USA), Reza Farmand (Denmark), Saghi Ghahraman (Canada) and more.

One performance only Sunday, January 25th, 2004 at 7:00 pm at ODC Theater 3153 17th Street @ Shotwell in SAN FRANCISCO ! ! Tickets: $15 Purchase online: Ticketweb or purchase by Phone: ODC Theater Box Office (415) 863-9834

KPFA Interview with Niloufar Talebi and Zara Houshmand about the Four Springs Translation Project. Once there, click on 1/14/2004 to download interview. Listen to second segment of the one hour program.