From the Editors

B|taa’rof Magazine arrives in response to the absence of a published space for social comment, reflection and shared experience among the Iranian community in North America.

Too often, the process of immigration tears people away from the social contexts that they most deeply identified with. The past becomes an island that is isolated, placed beyond our immediate vision, and set aside as we strive to attend to the demands of the present.

It is our goal as editors to connect these islands, to investigate, re-imagine and appreciate them—in short, to preserve the treasures of human life that they contain for future generations. At the same time, we are united by the belief that written and visual arts create a different type of understanding that values empathy and shared affect.

B|taa'rof is the space where preservation and creation come together, where the Iranian diaspora speaks for itself, where its elders are listened to, where its artists showcase their talents— where memories are not simply passed on but seen anew.

~ The Editors