249 Results with the "Poetry" genre


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      Chapter Two

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      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

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      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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      Chapter Five

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      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter explores the lives of Cyrus and Ali Shams, Iranian immigrants in Indiana, focusing on their struggles with insomnia and trauma. Cyrus, now an adolescent, grapples with chronic sleeplessness, obsessively replaying daily interactions and imagining social slights. His anxiety extends to fears of deportation and his family’s precarious visa status, exacerbated by his father Ali’s vague warnings about the dangers of revealing their Iranian heritage. Ali works long hours at a chicken farm,…
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      Chapter Six

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      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter introduces ten-year-old Roya Shirazi, who struggles with persistent bedwetting despite her efforts to avoid liquids and empty her bladder before sleep. Her humiliation is compounded by her older brother Arash's mockery and her parents' silent disapproval, with her mother's pitying glances and her father's avoidance deepening her shame. Roya's anxiety manifests in her belief that her classmates can detect her odor, making her hyperaware of their reactions. A classroom incident where she…
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      Chapter Seven

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      by testsuphomeAdmin
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      Chapter Eight

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      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with Zee Novak reflecting on her early relationship with Cyrus during their time at Keady University in 2014. Set against the backdrop of an unpredictable Indiana spring, Zee recalls working at Green Nile and selling weed while Cyrus worked at Jade Café. Their lives revolved around drinking and casual dating, a period before Cyrus’s sobriety and Zee’s eventual decision to stop drinking in solidarity. Zee hints at the growing emotional labor she invested in Cyrus, a realization that…
    • 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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      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens in Tehran, August 1987, with the narrator reflecting on a transformative first kiss with Leila, described as a word that evokes "heaven" rather than just "sky." The moment is charged with emotional depth, setting the tone for their intimate connection. The narrative shifts to a phone call from Ali and Gilgamesh, who are drunkenly checking in from a campsite, their boisterous banter contrasting with the quiet tension of the narrator and Leila's shared space. Leila's playful interaction…
    • Chapter Twenty-seven [When asked about…], Martyr! Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with a reflection on Michelangelo's approach to sculpture—removing excess stone to reveal the masterpiece within. This metaphor extends to life, where eliminating negative elements (toxic relationships, bad habits) is often mistaken for creating goodness. The author critiques the Abrahamic moral framework, arguing that avoiding wrongdoing doesn't equate to active virtue. A rich man, for instance, may pride himself on not harming others while neglecting positive action, exposing the…
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