Writer and theatre producer Iman Alidoosti runs an amazing space in Kypseli in central Athens, Greece. The Boat Collective is a community arts centre with all kinds of classes including writing, painting, performance art and music, and they’re open from 3-9pm every day during the week.
We did some writing workshops there and the next episode will also feature some of the poets who came to them. But for now, welcome to this conversation where Iman explains why poetry is so important to him, reads a piece by Rumi – first in Farsi, then in English – and we also talk about how community spaces in the arts can add a very different dimension to an artists practice.
theboatcollective.org // @theboat_collective
With thanks to the Arts Council of Ireland for funding these classes, live events and this podcast series.
Previous episodes: Wander Live Event // Sauti Youth
Iman Alidoosti Transcript:
[00:00:00] Bairbre Flood: Hi and welcome to Wander with me, Bairbre Flood, and with thanks to the Arts Council of Ireland for funding this podcast.
And today my guest is writer and theatre producer Iman Alidoosti. Iman runs an amazing space in Kypseli in central Athens. It’s a community arts centre called The Boat Collective. We did some writing workshops there and the next episode will also feature some of the poets who came to them. But for now, welcome to this conversation, where Iman explains why poetry is so important to him.
He reads a piece by Rumi, first in Farsi, then in English, and we also talk about how community spaces in the arts can add a very different dimension to an artist’s practice. This is Iman Alidoosti:
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[00:01:03] Iman Alidoosti: I think that poetry is one of the sweetest language that you can make the things easier to transfer to each other. Even politically, or in any view of the life, any perspective of life, if you are looking on it, we see that the poetry actually is coming from someone who could be really alone with themselves, because usually the poetry are coming to your heart, let’s say.
It’s not something that you will learn from somewhere. It’s usually your spiritual connection that you take with yourself, or universe, or whatever. Usually the poems can be effective to the people because it’s coming directly. Like there is not more hand between them, it’s coming directly from heart to heart.
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Iman Alidoosti: [Reads poem in Farsi]
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Okay, this poem is about like just comparing some situation. Usually we are seeing the world through our perspective which is it’s just how we see and it’s not the real things you know it’s just only our perspective so it’s like talking about some perspectives.
Hopefully maybe I can translate it! It said that someone had bread, but, unfortunately, he didn’t have any teeth. And the other one has teeth, but, unfortunately, he didn’t have any bread.
That the person who was believing that one day will come was the poorest. The person who was involved with the financial things of the world didn’t have a faith and belief.
Someone was hiding the saddle of the donkey in the middle of the house. And the other one was walking with the donkey, but the donkey didn’t have a saddle.
Someone was selling the paradise very cheap to the people. The plan that person has in the mind, even evil didn’t have.
Wherever it was the need for help, always the normal people volunteer. But the king didn’t have a hand to give.
Someone had the bread and didn’t have a taste to eat.
[00:06:33] Bairbre Flood: It’s good. OK, I think people will get a sense of it, even if it’s not exact. And it’s really hard to translate.
[00:06:41] Iman Alidoosti: I don’t have a lot of information about the English poems or like the poetry, but in Farsi, even to translate the poetry to the Farsi is difficult, so first I have to do it like a little bit easier as a sentence, in the Farsi, and then I have to translate it. But I think the poem, the poetry could transfer what they wanted to say.
[00:07:08] Bairbre Flood: So when he’s writing in Farsi, it’s not like your everyday language?
[00:07:13] Iman Alidoosti: No, definitely no. It’s like even we have a specific lesson in the school that you are translating the poetry to the understandable routine day because it’s not very easy the way that we are writing in the old poetry.
It is the Farsi that we were using,, I don’t know, 600 years ago, 700 years ago. So it’s not very easy to talk in this way, let’s say, because it’s not the common language that today we are using, like my generation, we are not talking Farsi in this way that the poems are.
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[00:08:00] Bairbre Flood: Can you tell me a little bit just about your own writing?
[00:08:07] Iman Alidoosti: To be honest, I’m writing even if there is a one or two books that are ready, but I’m not gonna publish them.
Bairbre Flood: Why?
Iman Alidoosti: Because I will publish them when I’m dead, like already I write that the people they should do because. I think the way that I write, it’s a little bit with a lot of freedom that sometimes the people doesn’t have a capacity of the freedom, let’s say, to hear. So there is a lot of discussion and a lot of things are coming.
But the way that I’m thinking and like the plan that I have. When you’re dead and you have your writing, the people just, they can read and they can decide from themselves that if they are agree with something or they could get something from these books or not. But usually when, in the moment you are going through the discussion, you lose the, like the main point that why you write this book, because I think now it’s somehow it’s common that the people like to discuss to say that, yes, we know something. But actually I write this book just to say that we don’t know anything.
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[00:09:27] Bairbre Flood: How important is it for people, for everyone to take up space in poetry and in art. And not just be written about, but to take that space and create their own narrative?
[00:09:41] Iman Alidoosti: I think this is coming directly from the people. If you are not talking, if you are not writing, the other people are writing and talking instead of you.
It’s just up to you, I think. So many people are angry. Like, why is someone saying, okay, if they don’t, are you doing that? It’s, I think, something natural. From the beginning that we have through the religion and all those things. If you are not talking, someone else is going to. But on the other hand, are the people enough self confidence to write what they want or like to say what they want?
I think also there is a problem that there is not a safe space for the people that they can express themselves or like to say, because of fighting this perfection – yes, just the people are not feeling safe many times. Why? Because they’re thinking that if you want to write, you must be a writer.
You must be a famous writer. Even if, ah, I had one novel, maybe since I was a kid, I had one story, I built it in my mind, never I’m going to write it because I didn’t put the name of the writer in my forehead to say that I’m a writer, so no, I cannot write. And I think this kind of things are always closing the people to do what they have to do or what they want to do, what they want to write, let’s say.
[00:11:07] Bairbre Flood: And do you think having places like this help to make safe spaces for people?
[00:11:14] Iman Alidoosti: I think if it’s going in the right direction, definitely. Because even I’m saying in our education, like now in universities, Still, this is a system that the student, they are not feeling that they can do so many things because always they are feeling shy or like they are not feeling enough besides in front of the other, always they are comparing between each other.
They don’t compare themselves. from yesterday and today, it’s always you are comparing yourself with the other group of, or like other people of the society, and yeah, I think to having this space that the people just, they can choose for themselves that I want to go somewhere and try to not be perfect, but I express what I want to do.
[00:11:59] Bairbre Flood: Do you think that the community aspect, so getting together in groups – it has a different aspect than, say, you’re sitting at home writing or you’re sitting at home creating a text?
[00:12:11] Iman Alidoosti: Oh, definitely. I think it has a direct contact with the poetry that already we read. Someone has a teeth, but doesn’t have a bread. And the other one has a bread, but doesn’t have a teeth, so yeah. I think this different community is always showing people different way of living, different ways of the perspective to the life, let’s say. So when you see it in the different culture, usually some things are much, much easier and some things are more hard, so I think it’s make this balance for you to open some lock in, in your mind and in your body.
So it’s, I think, very important to sharing this culture, like a community culture way of living. Let’s say it’s always proving the human, in my opinion. and especially through the art and especially poetry and writing, it’s helped much more, for the people to learn learn from each other.
This is, I think, the best way of learning. We cannot learn the life in university, but I definitely believe that we can learn the life in the community centers, because this is where you can deeply feel. The way of living of the people, or like sharing the stories that we say already.
That, yes, there are a lot of people that I hear so many things about Africa. I hear so many things about Europe. I say, I hear so many things about Japan. But until I’m not meeting one person from this geography, from this person, then I can understand exactly. So this is, I’m saying that, definitely the community centers are like a community cultural space, let’s say. is the best way that at least you can find some reality. Because you see the style of life.
You can see the style of thinking, the style of working, let’s say. And I think this is the place that the people can prove themselves through their life. Not who is better or who is wrong, or which way of their life is right or wrong. I think it’s just the best opportunity that you can improve yourself through so much nice information that you can get directly from somewhere.
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I think the last thing that I would love to say is, of course, just to offering the people to, if they have opportunity to find any book from Rumi, it’s not because, I don’t know, the people are saying someone, some people are saying he’s from Iran, some people are saying he’s from Turkey, someone, but it doesn’t matter even.
But I think if you find the opportunity to read his poems definitely you should read because I think he writes the things for all humans and any time of your life you are reading, there are things that you can learn from that person. This is just, I wanted to share.
[00:15:25] Bairbre Flood: Thank you so much, Iman.
[00:15:26] Iman Alidoosti: You’re welcome. Of course.
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[00:15:33] Bairbre Flood: The Boat Arts Centre in Kypseli, Athens, Greece run all kinds of classes, including writing, painting, performance, art, and music. And they’re open from 3 to 9 p. m. every day during the week. You can find their website at: theboatcollective.org and their Instagram is @theboat_collective
As I mentioned at the start of the program, we’ll be coming from there again next episode with poets Mustafa and Mahmoodi, aka Moody. So stay tuned for that. Again, a huge thanks to Iman Alidoosti for sharing his love and knowledge of poetry with us today. And thanks to all at the Boat Arts Centre for facilitating classes there, including Mona, Charlie and Iota.
And do call in if you’re in Athens. It’s a beautiful community arts space and everybody is welcome.
Thanks to the Arts Council of Ireland for their continued support.
From me, Bairbre Flood, bye for now.
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