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    194 Results in the "Poetry" category


    • Chapter Nine: Bobby Sands Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with Cyrus Shams, a young Iranian-American man, confessing his preoccupation with death to artist Orkideh during an encounter at the Brooklyn Museum. He awkwardly reveals his fascination with historical figures like Bobby Sands who died for their beliefs, contrasting their meaningful deaths with his own existential uncertainty. Orkideh, a terminally ill cancer patient conducting a living exhibition called "DEATH-SPEAK," listens intently while subtly challenging Cyrus's romanticized…
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      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Ten Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter depicts the narrator's life working at an industrial chicken breeder farm in Fort Wayne, where the chickens are genetically modified for rapid growth and efficiency, stripped of immune systems to maximize productivity. The narrator describes the sterile, laboratory-like environment, contrasting it with traditional farming imagery. Their daily routine involves meticulous biosecurity measures, including showering and wearing scrubs to prevent contamination. The chickens, referred to as…
    • Chapter Eleven: Hypatia of Alexandria Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter follows Arash Shirazi, a young Iranian man conscripted into military service during the Iran-Iraq War in 1984. With no means to avoid enlistment, Arash reflects on the absurdity of war and the shift from a revolution led by idealists to one controlled by armed zealots. He resigns himself to his fate, imagining his future as just another martyr's photo on the mosque wall. His observations highlight the senselessness of war, where men like him—poor, uneducated, and without special skills—are…
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      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Twelve Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter introduces Cyrus Shams, an Iranian-American navigating life in the Midwest during the post-9/11 era, where he grapples with xenophobia and cultural alienation. Cyrus perceives natural phenomena like storms and sunlight as personal affronts, reflecting his broader sense of isolation. His upbringing is marked by microaggressions, such as a math teacher’s racist joke and a social studies teacher’s condescending remarks about U.S. intervention in the Middle East. These experiences highlight…
    • Chapter Thirteen Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter introduces Roya Shams, a woman living in Tehran in 1987, who reflects on her ambivalence toward life and the constraints of her marriage. She describes her limited personal freedoms, cherishing small moments of solitude like sipping tea or doodling, which stand in stark contrast to her domestic responsibilities. Roya’s husband, Ali, is friends with Gilgamesh, a police officer, and the two men take annual trips to Rasht, leaving Roya briefly free from the exhaustion of constant scrutiny.…
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      Cyrus Shams

      Cyrus Shams Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with Cyrus Shams, a disheveled and drug-addled young man, lying in his squalid Indiana apartment, desperately seeking a sign from God. After years of silence, he interprets a flickering light bulb as a potential divine message, though he questions whether it’s a miracle or just faulty wiring. Cyrus reflects on the unfairness of biblical figures like Muhammad and Saul, who received unambiguous revelations, while he is left grasping for clarity. His longing for a tangible connection with…
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      Chapter One

      Chapter One Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter introduces Cyrus, a medical actor at Keady University Hospital who portrays dying patients or grieving family members for medical students to practice difficult conversations. He finds purpose in inhabiting various roles, from Sally Gutierrez, a mother losing her daughter, to Buck Stapleton, a Catholic coach facing his wife's brain death. The job requires him to calibrate emotional responses based on pain scales while evaluating students' empathy through score sheets. Cyrus enjoys the…
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      Chapter Two

      Chapter Two Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with Cyrus attending an AA meeting at Camp5 Center, a dingy lavender recovery clubhouse frequented by a mix of old-timers and reluctant newcomers. The setting is vividly described—cigarette smoke, a dim basement with plastic tables, and the no-nonsense presence of Angus B. selling cheap snacks. Cyrus’s sponsor, Gabe Bardo, a seasoned figure with 33 years of sobriety, sits quietly beside him. The meeting’s broad topic, “life on life’s terms,” sparks disjointed shares, from a…
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      Chapter Three

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      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter explores Cyrus's lifelong struggle with sleep, framed as a paradoxical and involuntary performance. From childhood, he finds it absurd that sleep requires pretending—a nightly act of faith rather than a natural bodily function. Unlike eating or breathing, sleep demands surrender to an unreliable process, rewarded with dreams but threatened by nightmares. Cyrus views wakefulness as a corrosive force, a "poison" that erodes cognitive clarity until sleep becomes unavoidable. His resistance to…
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      Chapter Four

      Chapter Four Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with a woman's first flight experience from Tehran to Bandar Abbas on July 3, 1988, against the backdrop of Iran's economic hardship. The narrative paints a vivid picture of Tehran's struggles—families selling heirloom carpets for survival, men raising chickens in bathrooms, and desperate attempts to secure food. A haunting scene depicts young women risking prostitution on Revolution Street, with one girl violently apprehended by secret police. The protagonist's unease during her flight…
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