Esmail Khoi is a leading Iranian poet living in exile. Since fleeing his homeland in 1983, Khoi has emerged as a most articulate poetic voice of the Iranian Diaspora. Courageously, even fearlessly, he has gone beyond chronicling his own life in exile to defend human rights and political freedom the world over. Khoi’s poetry bears eloquent testimony to his experience and thought, and to his life long quest for a more humane world.

Please join us for an evening of panel discussions, poetry readings and more. Featuring Esmail Khoi as the Guest of Honor. Kindly click on this link for more information:  http://www.persian.umd.edu/images2/khoi.pdf

We hope to see you there.

To be eligible, the essay must be in English and be nominated by the instructor to whom it is submitted in partial fulfillment of a regular course’s requirements. It should also relate, wholly or in substantial part, to Persian Studies broadly defined, inclusive of topics in Persian language and literature, and humanistic or social science studies directed at the modern countries of Iran, Afghanistan, and Persian-speaking Central Asia, as well as Iranian and Persian-speaking diaspora communities. Jake wrote his essay for PERS 371 – Introduction to Persian Literature, taught in fall 2007 by Professor Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak. Titled “Nature in Contemporary Iranian Literature and Film,” Jake’s paper was evaluated overall as the best among a total of nine papers nominated for the award over the three semesters that comprised the academic year 2007-08. A committee consisting of Professor Nasrollah Pourjavady, Professor Ali Abasi and RICPS Director Professor Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, assessed Jake’s paper as demonstrating “commending skill in analyzing and offering plausible interpretations of the literary and artistic texts” and one that “leaves the reader with insights and a sense of having read a paper that exhibits wholeness.” In addition to demonstrating academic excellence through this paper, Jake maintains a deep interest in Persian Studies by taking a slate of Persian-language courses. He plans to integrate the knowledge thus gained in a wider historical contexts of interactions between Persian and other languages of the region, such as Arabic, and Ottoman Turkish. He is also a professional bookbinder and well versed in the arts of the book in the Persian-speaking world. We congratulate Jake on this achievement and are happy to nurture the budding Persian scholar in him. More information on RICPS’s Awards and Scholarships can be found at: http://www.languages.umd.edu/persian/Academic_Philantrophy.php