Season 3, Ep. 11: Ari Honarvar on how art keeps us tethered to freedom

Artist and writer Ari Honarvar weaves the art forms of Sufi poetry and dance for the sake of collective healing. The poetry of her Persian heritage puts her mind at ease, Honarvar explains, while dance is “fuel for resilience.” Woven throughout this interview are Honarvar's breathtaking recitations of the poetry of Rumi in Farsi and English. About Ari:Ari Honarvar is the founder of Rumi with a View, dedicated to building bridges between the arts, social justice, and well-being. She dances with refugees and facilitates Resilience through Joy workshops on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Her words have been featured in The Guardian, The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, and elsewhere. She is the author of the critically acclaimed novel A Girl Called Rumi and the bestselling oracle deck, Rumi’s Gift.Recommendations:Ari notes in this episode that she generally recites Rumi’s poetry to English speakers, since fellow Sufi poet Hafiz is very difficult to translate. However, she commends Hafiz's Little Book of Life as an admirable effort to do this nearly impossible thing. She wrote the book’s forward. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe