Poetry, magic and a war-torn childhood in 'A Girl Called Rumi'

Speaker 1: (00:00)

San Diego author, all Rihanna bar was born in Shiraz, Iran, and grew up during the throes of the Iran, Iraq war. She moved to the United States at the age of 14. She has dedicated her life to refugees of war torn and conflict lane borders, including our own border, where she collaborates with musicians, dancers, and poets. She had her writing published in Vogue, the guardian Newsweek and more her debut novel. A girl called roomy came out in late September. It's the story of a family and post revolution, Iran, Ari Hannover spoke with KPBS arts, calendar editor and producer Julia Dixon Evans about the book. Here's that interview.

Speaker 2: (00:40)

Ari. Why did you want to write this book and tell this story of Kamia who we soon learn is the girl called roomy?

Speaker 3: (00:49)

Well, as you mentioned, I was born in Shiraz, Iran, and that's the city of poets and wine. So this book has a bit of a love letter to my hometown. And also what happened when I was six years old, when women of Iran lost their right to sing in public or dance or ride a bicycle and freedom of expression became curtailed and dissidents were punished on there that Islamic Republic that had just taken root. And this Saddam Hussein took advantage of this internal turmoil and attack to Iran and started a war that lasted eight years and destroyed countless lives. So we were being attacked from outside, but also from within, there was an actual war and people were so on the edge that they would have a heart attack when the door would slam. I wanted to, to bring it, that kind of, uh, element what happens when, uh, your, a whole region is thrown into the crucible of oppression and war and what happens to relationships. But I also wanted to talk about a story of childhood friendships and family bonds, and, uh, at a deeper level, the omnipresent yearning for liberation from suffering. So for that, that book weaves in the 12th century, Persian mistake and poet ATARs conference of the birds, which is an allegory for special attainment. And our, our, uh, protagonist gets to get drawn into this mythic tale and tapping into the mystical realm that sustains her through terrible circumstances.

Speaker 2: (02:39)

And I want to talk about structure. The book beautifully moves through multiple voices, as well as in parallel cities, across parallel timelines. And it said an post-revolution around in 1981, and then in 2009, but like you said, connecting it all is, is poetry and legends and this almost other worldly storyteller, Baba moshed tell me why these threads are important to you.

Speaker 3: (03:07)

Yeah. First and foremost, when I sat down to write this book, I wanted to present a compelling story, but I also wanted to bring the uplights of refugees and what happens to people who have to leave everything that is precious to them behind and come been thrown into this unfamiliar circumstance where every cell of your being wants to go home, but also you'll do anything you can not to go home, not to go back to where you escaped from, because home is no longer home. So, um, when the oppression and the wars are happening, there was a war on our coping mechanisms because there was a war on our pastimes. Our favorite pastimes became a crime playing cards by gamma and music then saying, so we had two choices, one to take risks that could end our freedom or life, or to become resourceful in how we brought in joy to our lives. And, uh, with many of us relied like me relied on this whole saving power of poetry and storytelling. And I choose to chose to do both small and large acts of defiance against the injustice against women. And me also, um, tapping into the cushion of 900 year old myths that, that helped us survive the, those dark days.

Speaker 2: (04:41)

Can you tell us more about the book's main character? Kamia,

Speaker 3: (04:47)

Uh, Kimia is a nine-year-old girl in the beginning. And then later she is a, a woman in her mid thirties in San Diego, and she's nine. She is in Iran and the revolution has just taken place where she can play with her best friend. Who's a boy, and she ends up getting into a lot of trouble with, with him and a lot of adventures. And she taps into this mythic tale and, uh, and learns about how to navigate life as terrible things are happening around you. She gets connected to a sanctuary within herself, but then that everything just shatters right before she moves to the us, essentially has to reinvent herself and become who she is. And as Panadol

Speaker 2: (05:42)

Kamia and her brother are man's stories in particular, they don't shy away from the darkness. There is sometimes raw and gruesome depictions of torture or self-harm. Can you talk a little bit about this choice and what the reality is for children who experienced war?

Speaker 3: (06:03)

Yes. As an adult, I work with, uh, children at war refugees, asylum seekers, who've been through tremendous amount of torture and violence, including being a former ISIS sex lives and women who've been through so much, uh, crossing the border, being assaulted, et cetera. And when this, that trauma becomes so all encompassing, when you can't move through life, you have to find ways to cope. And for my main character self-harm is a way that she's able to, to keep her emotions from overwhelming her, because she's so afraid of feeling everything that she's holding inside from all the trauma that she has received. And for. So that's for, Kamia for who's the protagonist for her brother. He has an entirely different set of, uh, trauma and, um, met also similar because they're in the same environment in the same crucible together. So he, um, he smokes pot a lot just to be able to, to cope with what, what is happening, what has happened to him, and just tries to not think about the past and keep staying in the present the bay the best way he can.

Speaker 2: (07:35)

There's a big motif in the book about the idea of free will, but also of destiny. And I really love the way adult Kamia meditates around her own reactions and the way this is such a powerful piece of the storyteller's message to what he says about choice. Can you tell us a little bit about that freewill?

Speaker 3: (07:58)

Uh, so that's like a big philosophical question, whether we have free will or is it all written in the big book of life for us? And, um, and that's something that, um, this storyteller is able to convey to nine and 10 year olds in a, in a beautiful way. I work where they can kind of understand the difference with between choice and, and, uh, and destiny and, and keep con contemplating on it. So the, the, uh, storyteller tells them that, um, these questions have to keep simmering in the fire of life for them in the fire of their, their being before they come to fruition. And there's no clear answers that, that, uh, and I chose for a reason to keep that open ended for, uh, for the, for the reader to see what they resonate to at the moment.

Speaker 2: (09:05)

I've been speaking to Ari Hona VAR, who is out with her first novel, a girl called roomy and who will appear at mysterious galaxy with three other local authors on Sunday at 11:00 AM. Thank you, Ari.

Speaker 3: (09:19)

Thank you so much, Julia, for having me.