Poet Profile: Bänoo Zan
Bänoo ZanBurstout contributorI am a poet, translator, teacher, editor and poetry organizer.
Bänoo Zan landed in Canada in 2010. She has published more than 120 poems, translations, biographies, and articles in print and online publications around the globe. Her book, The Song of Phoenix: Life and Works of Sylvia Plath, was reprinted in Iran in 2010. She is the founder, an organizer and host of Shab-e She?r (Poetry Night), the most diverse poetry reading series in Toronto.
Bänoo Zan is a poet, translator, teacher, editor and poetry curator, with more than 120 published poems, etc., as well as two books. Song of Phoenix: Life and Works of Sylvia Plath, was reprinted in Iran in 2008. Songs of Exile, a collection of her poems, was released in 2016 in Canada. A second collection, Letters to My Father, is due to be released early 2017. She is the founder of Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night), the most diverse poetry reading and open mic series in Toronto. It bridges the gap between poetry communities, bringing together artists from different ethnicities, nationalities, religions (or lack thereof), ages, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities, poetic styles, voices and visions.
Bänoo has chosen to present her poem ‘The Hajj Pilgrim’ as it is a good representation of her as a person, as well as her work as a poet.
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The Hajj Pilgrim:
Khoda,
They say
you are a man—
in tavaaf—
on the day of ‘Arafah
stoning the Shaytan
They say
you are a woman—
covering your breasts
from the na-mahram—
your long hair in hijab
They say
you are angry
never drink or dance
never smile
But I’ve seen you
with Mohammad
in intimate embrace of
religion and justice
chaste and naked
You love like a man—
give up everything
for a kiss
You love like a woman—
want everything
in a kiss
I heard
you are converting
from you
to the lover
you are
Wash blood
off bombs and believers
Mourn the loss of innocence
in the ritual of need
Shave your head
Cut your nails
Wrap yourself in ihram
and join the humble crowd
that dies
for a visit
from you
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More of Bänoo Zan and her work can be found below:
Facebook & LinkedIn: Bänoo Zan
Twitter: @BanooZan
Here is the link to information about Bänoo’s poetry book, "Songs of Exile," on the publisher Guernica Editions website
And here are some links to reviews and interviews:
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