Abdulla Pashew, from "Union" (trans. Hemn Bakr & Alana Marie Levinson-LaBrosse), pub. Words Without Borders [ID'd]

About me

• Turkish/Kurdish

• English Major

• Introverted perfectionist

• Lover of art, classic literature and aesthetics, morally grey fictional characters, novels with lots of gloom and doom

Writerly Habits

• I write in the same font as most legal documents—Times New Roman (bland, I know)

• Single-spaced forever—I like big chunks of text

• Fountain pen enthusiast

• Could spend the rest of my life at the desk

 Wips (some of which fill me with dread to continue)

• Yellow Houses /// adult lit-fic novel. Unhinged university students vandalize houses, painting them school-bus yellow, then write about wondering who did it in the local paper. Hmm...

• Liquor and Locusts /// adult modern fantasy novel. TW because this is a pandemic story! A squatter crashes at a countryside manor during a pandemic, befriending an elderly gardener and his very emo apprentice. There is somehow also a talking locust who loves brandy.

• Red Pleather /// lit short fiction. A teenage girl’s relationship with her older brother who constricts her from the world outside their crowded apartment complex. Warning: a lot of stair climbing and internal monologues in this one.

CURRENT PROJECT: PROJECT ISTANBUL

lit fic? Thriller? Noir Novel // Heavyyy dark academia aesthetics // Set in Istanbul, Turkey.

You would like this if you enjoy reading about morally grey journalists, secret clubs, etc.

***

Note: Wanted to say that this is an updated blog introduction— I’ve been away for some time,,,, but anyways! I’m back here now to share my current wips, writerly frustrations, and general artsy aesthetics.

That said, other writeblrs! Please interact so I can read all of your beautiful wips~

Also, I attached a random illustration I made for the Project Istanbul MCs, as well as a link to the wip intro. Hope you enjoy!

See link above for the wip intro!

Just leaving this and a few other articles here.

Feel free to reblog.

This one is admittedly a day late. But still.

1. 'Cities in hands of citizens': Cooperative housing initiative comes to Brussels

While housing is a basic right, the increasingly expensive housing market is putting this in peril. One organisation is combatting this by encouraging citizens to take housing back into their own hands. Read more.

2. Farmer protests: Tensions rise as police deploy water cannons

The tractors are back in Brussels for the third time in less than two months. The day-long demonstrations will cause severe disruptions to traffic and public transport. While the protest started quite calmly, the atmosphere is turning more hostile. Read more.

3. Brussels properties pricier than ever when including garden

Properties with gardens are increasingly in demand – even more so since the pandemic. This has resulted in a significant evolution in the housing market, with gardens driving up property costs. Read more.

4. Kurdish demonstration on Place du Luxembourg ends in fighting

Police intervened at a protest on Place du Luxembourg in Brussels' European Quarter on Monday as skirmishes erupted among several demonstrators. The square was consequently evacuated by police. Read more.

5. Moscow terror attack: ISKP is 'biggest jihadist threat' to Belgium

The Islamic State Khorasan Province terrorist group (ISKP), which claimed the attack in Moscow on Friday night, is the most serious jihadist threat for Belgium, said Federal Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt (Open VLD). Read more.

6. Nine new destinations from Brussels Airport this summer

The scope for international travel from Brussels this summer just became bigger, as Belgium's biggest airport will be offering flights to nine new destinations. Read more.

7. One of Seven Wonders of Belgium on show in Paris

The 'Merveilleux Trésor d'Oignies: éclats du XIIIe siècle' exhibition ('The Wonderful Treasure of Oignies: Glimpses into the 13th century'), a rare collection of over 30 pieces of Belgian gold and silverware, opened at the Musée National du Moyen Âge de Cluny in Paris on Tuesday 19 March. Read more.

هیچ شۆڕشێک بە ئاکام ناگات، ئەگەر خەڵک بە هی خۆی نەزانێت by Kurdistan Photo كوردستان In the middle of the Kurdish month of Gûlan "lit. flowers", or after çiley behar/vehar "40th day of spring", Kurds celebrate a spring festival called "festival of giving" to thank nature and God for the blessings bestowed upon them, during which food is prepared and given to the attendees, Kurdish songs are sung and traditional musical instruments def and tambur are played. https://flic.kr/p/2njztWy

ykw I think I need to find some lit on kurdish history/culture to understand exordia better.. I just know so much of this is gonna go over my head bc my knowledge is so limited like I'm already stumbling into bits that make me take mental notes to look up later. and with the reading ive been doing to keep myself informed on the palestinian genocide I'm actually finding I have a lot of interest in that general geographical/historical/political area so maybe I need to fully commit to trying to better understand the last hundred years or so of the middle east + western intervention 🤔

[ad_1] Her face has lit up a billboard in Times Square, and been painted on murals in Paris and Berlin. It has been splashed on the Barcelona soccer team’s private jet and commemorated on T-shirts with the red, white and green colors of Iran’s flag. Vienna and Los Angeles have even named streets after her.At rallies across Iran and the world last year, tens of thousand of men and women waved placards with her face shouting, “Say her name: Mahsa Amini. Mahsa Amini.”Saturday will mark one year since the 22-year-old woman from Saghez, a small city in a Kurdish province in northwest Iran, died in the custody of the country’s morality police on allegations of violating the hijab law, which mandates women and girls cover their hair and bodies.Her death in Tehran ignited monthslong protests nationwide, led by women and girls who tossed off their head scarves in defiance and demanded the end to the Islamic Republic’s rule. The uprising bearing her name, the “Mahsa movement,” morphed into the most serious challenge to the legitimacy of Iran’s ruling clerics since they took power in 1979.Security forces responded with a violent crackdown, arresting thousands and killing at least 500 protesters, including children and teenagers, rights groups have said. Seven protesters have been executed, and even relatives of demonstrators have been targeted.But if Ms. Amini in death became a global icon, the young woman with brown eyes and long dark hair was also a daughter, a sister, a niece and a favorite granddaughter. In recent interviews, Ms. Amini’s father, an uncle, two cousins and a family friend described her as an unlikely candidate for global fame, a person whose story has resonated so widely and deeply precisely because she could be any girl living and walking the streets of Iran.Ms. Amini was quiet, reserved and treated everyone around her with a kind of old-school politeness, they said. She avoided politics and activism, and did not follow the news. She didn’t have many friends and mostly socialized with her relatives, family members said.Her mother was her best friend and her biggest influence, they said, and the two cooked, hiked and listened to music together. On the day she was arrested, walking with her family in Tehran, she was wearing a long black robe that belonged to her mother and a head scarf. The morality police arrested her on allegations of violating the hijab rules.“She was an innocent and ordinary young woman from a middle-class family who was just starting to discover her adult path,” said Vafa Aeili, her 43-year-old uncle, who left Iran for Finland a few weeks ago. “She was very inquisitive, always asking me questions, always seeking advice about what to do, how to improve her studies and organize her work.”Iran has stepped up crackdowns on dissidents ahead of the anniversary of Ms. Amini’s death with a new wave of arrests. Another uncle of hers, Safa Aeili, was detained in a raid on his home in Sanandaj last week. Her father, Amjad Amini, has been interrogated multiple times recently and pressured to cancel commemorations planned for Saturday.Kaveh Ghorieshi, a Kurdish journalist from Ms. Amini’s hometown, whose family are old friends of her family, said security forces have taken steps to intimidate residents, openly installing surveillance cameras all around the city and at the cemetery where she is buried. Helicopters have been hovering over the city for days, said Mr. Ghoreishi, who is now in Berlin.Ms. Amini’s parents issued a statement on their Instagram accounts in early September saying they plan to hold a “traditional and religious ceremony” at her gravesite on Saturday to honor their daughter but asked that people “avoid any violence or reactions to violence.” As of Friday, they were still planning to hold the rite.Ms. Amini was born into a Kurdish family of modest means but deeply entrenched in their ethnic community and its traditions and cultures. Her parents were mindful of potential state discrimination that their daughter might face as an ethnic minority. So they gave her two names: Mahsa, for official documents, and a Kurdish name, Jina, which means eternal. That was the name everyone who knew her used.The family was tight-knit, with conservative values. Some members of Ms. Amini’s extended family are religious and observe Muslim practices such as praying and fasting, but faith was never enforced, her uncle, Mr. Aeili, said.Ms. Amini’s father worked for the state social security agency, retiring about a year before her death. Her mother, Mozhgan Eftekhari, was a homemaker known for her renditions of classical Persian songs. Her parents lost their firstborn son, Armin, at the age of 5 from food poisoning and lack of proper medical care, family members said. When their daughter was born they were overjoyed and overprotective, Mr. Aeili said.“When Jina was a child she loved big dolls, and I had to buy dolls for her if I took her shopping in the bazaar; it’s as if she dreamed big from an early age,” her father wrote to The Times. “Jina had a very pure and kind heart. If you met her once and heard her soft voice, you could never forget her.”Cherished memories of Ms. Amini haunt her relatives: how she always played a happy Iranian video clip when the family sat down for a meal; her love for clothes in bright colors; and how she timidly joined sing-along sessions in small family gatherings.“Sometimes I forget you are gone, I want to dial your number and tell you I’m devastated,” wrote her younger brother Ashkan, 19, on his Instagram page next to Ms. Amini’s picture.After graduating from high school Ms. Amini was unsure of her career path, and considered medicine, acting and even becoming a radio host, her family said. She actually did earn a certificate in pharmacology, but wasn’t ready to make a career of it. She tried out different hobbies: playing the flute, hiking and volleyball.In the months before her death, Ms. Amini worked at a women’s clothing shop that her father had purchased with his retirement payout. Her brother now runs the shop.She loved traveling but had never left Iran. She dreamed of going to Turkey and visiting Istanbul and the shrine of the poet Rumi in Konya, her uncle said. After years of taking the university entrance exam and failing, she had finally been accepted to a microbiology program at Azad University, in the Iranian city of Urmia, and would have started classes in the fall of 2022.“Her favorite thing to do was to hang out and play with all the babies and children in the family,” said her 27-year-old cousin in a telephone interview from Saghez, Iran, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. If there was one place she emerged from her shell it was at weddings, her cousins and uncle said, where she wore long colorful Kurdish dresses, curled her hair and danced hand-in-hand with her relatives.“Her favorite thing to do was to hang out and play with all the babies and children in the family,” one relative said.Her uncle recalled giving her a notebook and recommending she take daily notes of her thoughts to help her find direction. In the months before her death, she surprised him by showing him the notebook with charts and mapped out plans, a blueprint of a life that could have been, Mr. Aeili said.The Iranian government has said that Ms. Amini died while in police custody because of underlying medical issues. Her family has said she had no health issues, and that she died because the police beat her. A photo of Ms. Amini in a coma in the hospital with blood dripping from her ear and tubes in her mouth went viral, further undermining the government’s narrative.Saleh Nikbakht, the family’s lawyer, said that no one has been arrested in Ms. Amini’s case because the coroner’s office rejects the assertion by her family and doctors that she was killed from a blow to the lower part of her skull.The United States House recently overwhelmingly passed the “Mahsa Act,” a package of sanctions aimed at punishing Iran and its top leaders for human rights violations and to limit the country’s import and export of military equipment. It is not clear if the Senate will take it up at a time when Washington and Iran have taken steps to defuse tensions.On Saturday, protests honoring Ms. Amini on the year after her death are planned in more than 50 cities across the world including Washington, New York, London and Sydney.For members of the Amini family the anniversary brings some solace, in that their daughter’s death has galvanized Iranians to seek change. But it also brings pain and regret.They had traveled to Tehran on that week in September to visit Ms. Amini’s aunt and buy clothes to stock the shop. They had spent a week at the Caspian Sea, after which Ms. Amini had asked if they could skip the drive to Tehran and instead fly back home, her uncle said.“I will never forgive myself as the head of the family because I was the one who insisted we go to Tehran,” her father said.Leily Nikounazarcontributed reporting. [ad_2]

Chapter 2: Diving In...

Sunday, to the people of Iraq, is actually their first day of work, equal to our Monday. We had a full day of official meetings today, and we were treated so well. Everybody wanted to meet us! We met the governor and his staff, and then the head of the Erbil Regional Parliament. Their parliament building is housed in a former prison where Saddam Hussein imprisoned the Kurdish freedom fighters. Others wanting to meet us were the head of the majority party, the head of the minority party, and the mayor. At each stop, we were offered a cup of tea or coffee. It really began to be quite hilarious, tea every 30 minutes, and I noticed the manpower/staffing it took to serve us! At one point they did serve us coffee because someone had told them Americans prefer coffee over tea. And one staffer sweetened it up a little bit, and it actually tasted good. But for the most part, their tea is as dark as motor oil, sometimes as thick, and is way too bitter and strong for me, even though they said it had pistachio in it. I was thinking maybe some of this tea was leftover prison rations.

So the morning was full of long-winded politicians, welcoming us and our mayor saying how honored we were to be there. (I was actually able to say that in Sorani Kurdish by the way). If I heard “welcome, we are so honored to have you” once I heard it 100 times! In the governor’s office I noticed 2 pretty women, dressed like us, with very striking dark straight hair. Later that day, when I said in Sorani, “let’s go to the bazaar”, their eyes lit up, we hit it off, and from then on we were pals. I would come call them my Kurdish sisters.  

It was interesting to see so many women in government and elected positions. So my first stereotype is busted. Many women are elected to leadership positions in Iraq, in fact, the head of the parliament is a woman. And she defeated another woman for the post! She spoke no English, but her translator indicated that in Kurdistan, there is no sectarian strife. They welcome all sects and religions. This is the story of their history, we would find out later. In fact, many refugees come to Kurdistan, because of their history of religious, political, racial, and national tolerance. The advancement of Isis and Da’esh in neighboring Iran and Syria have forced the Syrians, Turkmen, Iranian Kurds, and Christians refugees into this area of Iraq where they know they will be welcome. Their big problem is young adult unemployment… Kids that don’t wanna work, imagine that, and the refugees drive down wages, imagine that. Their economy is oil based, but they are trying to advance other sources of economic growth: agriculture, tourism, manufacturing. This is one reason they are so very interested in a Nashville sister city.  

That afternoon, we got to go to the famous Erbil bazaar. We loved it! It’s fine to meet all these government officials but we wanted to see the people. This was, to me, glimpsing into the REAL Erbil, the essence of the city. Along with the Citadel, this bazaar is their jewel in the crown, their hub, and a cool old building. It is a visual and sensory feast! Jack ended up ordering two custom made shirts for $50. We could’ve stayed there all day and actually planned to play hooky on Wednesday and come back. More on this later. One of the places we went to in the market was a famous café called Mam Khalil (Uncle Khalil). I had seen it listed as a must when you visit Erbil. It was a tiny place with photos covering every square inch of the walls and ceiling. We were somewhat celebrities because the 2 mayors -Erbil and Nashville- were seated together having tea. But a local man chatted with us in broken English and showed us his scars from Saddam. The Kurdish people treasure their freedom, and disliked the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, thus he abused them. You’ve probably heard about how he gassed the Kurdish people, but he also demolished 4,000 villages in the Kurdish countryside. More on this later but this man’s scarred hand was a glimpse into the atrocities inflicted on the Kurds that we were to find out about later in the week. Oh, and they don’t charge you for the tea. We are their guests. Could you imagine that in the states? The other kind of crazy part of the bazaar was the money changing station. ($100= 145,000 Kurdish dinars) There was all this cash money sitting out on a table. No guards, no case with a lock on it, not an ounce of security surrounding this cash money. See what I mean when I say theft is not a problem? The culture is, you don’t steal things.

The other jewel in the crown of Erbil is the Citadel. Erbil is the oldest continually occupied city in the world and the Citadel was the hub of this ancient village. It is 8000 years old. The original structures of the Citadel are under ground, as is so often the case, and some excavation is taking place, but people actually lived in the Citadel structures until very recently. The father of our translator Rekan was born in the Citadel.

The central part of the Citadel has been renovated and is a lovely event space. This is where our welcome party, the dressiest event of our trip, was to take place later tonight.

So to get “dressed up”, remember, you couldn’t wear dresses above the knee and not much skin showing. I had a knee length dress and it was OK, and cap sleeves. We arrived to such a handsome sight: the Citadel had uplighting to define its beautiful vaulted archways and ceilings. The Peshmerga had donned their official uniforms. The local Kurdish women were attired in their beautiful, sequined long gowns, a very dressy tradition that I had seen in Nashville when I went to their New Year’s (Newroz) celebration - even outdoors they were in these long sequined gowns. Many US soldiers from the neighboring military installation (it’s not called an army base for various reasons) were on hand as well as all the officials we’d met earlier, and the Deputy Consul General of the United States, a tiny little lady named Zehra Bell. There was wine and beer, traditional Kurdish dancing and Kurdish music including a drum performance unlike any I’ve ever seen.

We also met a really interesting group of young people called the Free Burma Rangers, an NGO. They do rescue work in war-torn areas, it’s very risky work. But one of them, Ibrahim, had on a country and western shirt, and proceeded to speak in perfect English, because he spent 2 years in Texas. I want you to remember him because this is what he does in his spare time:(see cowboy picture).

That Kurdish cowboy picture may be the coolest picture I have ever seen, and he promised me next time we go back he will take us horseback riding with that group of guys. That is, he will take Jack horseback riding with that group of guys.

Some Iranians celebrate World Cup loss to U.S. amid nationwide protests

Some Iranians celebrate World Cup loss to U.S. amid nationwide protests

Soccer fans in Iran’s Kurdish region set off fireworks and honked car horns early Wednesday to celebrate the U.S. win over the Iranian national team in a politically charged World Cup match that divided the protest-riven country. Cheering fans hit the streets in Iran’s Kurdish-majority province of Kurdistan and fireworks lit the skies over the Bukan area of West Azerbaijan province to celebrate…

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Hero Kurda, "Untitled" (trans. Alana Marie Levinson-LaBrosse, Pshtewan Kamal Babakir & Shene Mohammed), pub. World Literature Today [ID'd]

Demise to the Dictator: Iranians Demand Justice for Girl Who Died on the Arms of Morality Police

‘Demise to the Dictator’: Iranians Demand Justice for Girl Who Died on the Arms of ‘Morality Police’ https://sanjosenewshq.com/demise-to-the-dictator-iranians-demand-justice-for-girl-who-died-on-the-arms-of-morality-police/ JERUSALEM, Israel – Unrest erupted in Iran’s capital on Monday to protest the loss of life of a lady who died in custody after she was arrested for violating the nation’s strict Islamic costume code. College students at a number of universities in Tehran took to the streets and known as for an investigation into the loss of life of Mahsa Amini, 22, who died after she was detained by Iran’s so-called “morality police” for not protecting her hair with the Islamic head protecting known as the “hijab.” Demonstrators stuffed the streets chanting “Demise to the Dictator” whereas others lit trash cans on fireplace and chanted in opposition to the police. Beginner video on-line exhibits women and men filling the streets in Iran’s western Kurdish cities, with some ladies ripping off their hijabs and calling for justice. Ladies of Iran-Saghez eliminated their headscarves in protest in opposition to the homicide of Mahsa Amini 22 Yr previous lady by hijab police and chanting: loss of life to dictator! Eradicating hijab is a punishable crime in Iran. We name on ladies and men world wide to indicate solidarity. #مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/ActEYqOr1Q — Masih Alinejad (@AlinejadMasih) September 17, 2022 A Kurdish activist group known as the Hengaw Human Rights Group stated Iranian safety forces killed 5 protestors within the Kurdish cities, injured dozens, and made not less than 250 arrests. CBN Information couldn’t independently confirm the group’s claims. The violent arrest of a Kurdish citizen by safety forces in Tekab#Kurdistan_Strike#Mahsa_Amini pic.twitter.com/0mtIrtgzF0 — Hengaw Group for Human Rights (@Hengaw_English) September 19, 2022 The Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad, who now lives within the US and criticizes Iran’s obligatory hijab coverage, posted video on Twitter of Iranian women and men burning the garment. This video introduced tears to my eyes. Ladies & males burning obligatory hijab within the streets of Tehran the place #MahsaAmini was overwhelmed as much as loss of life by hijab police. The girl who took the video says; our dream comes true Lastly we’re burning the image of our oppression on the street. pic.twitter.com/P9WYBixKw4 — Masih Alinejad (@AlinejadMasih) September 19, 2022 Iran’s morality police detained Amini final Tuesday. Iranian police say she died of a coronary heart assault and denied mistreating her. Iranian authorities additionally launched closed-circuit footage purporting to indicate Amini collapsing from a medical emergency. Amini’s household instructed the semiofficial Fars information company that she was “in excellent well being” and claimed the footage launched by Iranian safety forces was edited. Amini, who was Kurdish, was buried in her hometown of Saquez on Saturday. Police used tear gasoline to disperse demonstrators on Saturday and Sunday who say she was murdered. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi ordered an investigation into Amini’s case earlier than departing to New York for the UN Basic Meeting this week. Iran’s judiciary has opened an investigation into the incident, together with a parliamentary committee. The hijab turned obligatory for girls in Iran throughout the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Critics say Iran’s morality police usually harass ladies who don’t observe the nation’s modesty necessities. In 2017, dozens of Iranian ladies protested the hijab by publicly eradicating the garment. Iran has additionally been rocked by protests over the nation’s poor financial system, which has been exacerbated by strict western sanctions in response to Iran’s nuclear program. ***Please join CBN Newsletters and obtain the CBN Information app to make sure you hold receiving the most recent information from a distinctly Christian perspective.*** via San Jose News HQ https://sanjosenewshq.com September 23, 2022 at 03:27AM

"If my native tongue is shaking the foundations of your state, it probably means that you built your state on my land."

Kurdish writer Ape Musa // Musa Anter

https://youtu .be/K1g_vUP5ksc

tw blood and gore

The riots in Iran gonna turn wild if Kurds show up with foreign weapons. Blessem 'em. But as exciting that would be, methinks key to overturning IRI would be if Iran's military eventually sides with the protesters.

My loathing of CNN won't allow me to post a link to their site directly, but MSN has a mirror so I'm good with that.

That's just the video anyhow, sad

try this

A wind of change is blowing through Iran. This wind picked up after the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini, the young Kurdish woman who was arrested by the Iranian morality police because a few strands of her hair were visible under the compulsory hijab. She was only twenty-two years old. 

When her body was taken back to her hometown of Saqez in the Kurdistan province in northwest Iran, the regime ordered her funeral to be carried out in secret. However, it quickly turned into a protest. Brave Kurdish women removed their headscarves, and the crowd cried out anti-government utterances, chanting for Kurdistan and the well-cited Kurdish slogan "Women, life, freedom," which was coined by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and cemented by the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) when fighting ISIS in Rojava. 

The protest at Jina’s burial spread like wildfire throughout the Kurdish cities, with people taking to the streets shouting anti-regime slogans. A general strike throughout Kurdistan was carried out.

It didn’t take long until the protests also spread to Tehran and the rest of the country. Jina’s flame may have been extinguished, but it has lit a revolutionary spark among the people of Iran. 

On September 24, the small Kurdish city of Shino managed to oust regime forces, who withdrew when they lost control of the city. The protesters on the streets were chanting for the return of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), a political party that was forced to leave the country in the 1980s after Ayatollah Khomeini brutally crushed the Kurdish freedom movement, a declaration of war against Iranian Kurdistan and one of the bloodiest chapters in the regime’s history. However, the human rights organization Hengaw reports that security forces have now taken back control and completely militarized the town of Shino. The city has gone on strike while security forces violently arrest protesters, sometimes outside of pharmacies where anyone purchasing first aid is detained and forced to identify the injured individuals. The internet is down, and at least five have been reported dead at the time of writing.

It took Iran only days to retaliate against the protests by attacking the Iranian Kurdish opposition parties based in Iraqi Kurdistan. Drones and artillery strikes hit a school, a hospital, homes, and party bases, with several casualties reported, including a pregnant woman who leaves a newborn behind. 

___________________________

This is like maybe 1/3 of the stories content.

I think this particular protest is going to get a good deal of its goals accomplished, unlike so many other protests this century including earlier ones in Iran this one has a double digit body count tied directly too government forces.

That's gonna go a long way with keeping people angry and protesting,

Hope they get the change they want with no further loss of life.

hi cherry! i'm currently on my second play-through (making a diff crown for each RO lol) and i was wondering how important symbolism is to the AToC world/your writing? i noticed the sun/sunlight motif with our MC, i'm assuming that's quite intentional! great work-- as a lit student, i am absolutely eating this up!!

It’s definitely a factor! Most of the symbolism you’ll see is based on common motifs and themes you’ll find in Kurdish mythology, but it’s also especially inspired by Zoroastrianism, which has a lot of symbolism to draw from. I’m happy to hear you’re enjoying it!! ❤️

Inspiration: Yousuf Karsh

While on a zoom meeting today, someone mentioned a photographer named “Yousuf Karsh” and my lecturer confirmed he was a really great photographer. So I’ve decided to pick him as more inspiration for myself and below I will be adding some information about the man and some of his work.

Yousuf Karsh was born on December 23,1908, and passed away July 13, 2002. He was 93 years old at the time of his death. Karsh was an Armenian-Canadian photographer known for his portraits of notable individuals, he has been described as one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 20th century.

While an Armenian Genocide survivor, Karsh migrated to Canada as a refugee. By the 1930s he established himself as a significant photographer in Ottawa, where he lived most of his adult life, though he traveled extensively for work. His iconic 1941 photograph of Winston Churchill was a breakthrough point in his 60-year career, through which he took numerous photos of known political leaders, men and women of arts and sciences. Over 20 photos by Karsh appeared on the cover of Life magazine, until he retired in 1992.

Yousuf Karsh was born to Armenian parents Amsih Karsh, a merchant, and Bahai Nakash, on December 23, 1908 in Mardin, Diyarbekir Vilayet, Ottoman Empire.The city's Armenian population was largely Arabic-speaking.His Armenian name, Hovsep, is a variant of Joseph, while Yousuf is the Arabic version of the same name. He grew up during the Armenian Genocide, during which some of his family were murdered. Karsh and his family escaped to a refugee camp in Aleppo, Syria in 1922 in a month-long journey with a Kurdish caravan. The Economist noted in their obituary of Karsh that he "thought of himself as an Armenian" and, according to Vartan Gregorian, "Although he was proud to be Canadian, Karsh was equally proud to be Armenian."

Karsh in 1938

Karsh was sent to Canada by his family. He arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on December 31, 1923 by ship from Beirut. He immediately moved to Sherbrooke, Quebec to live with his maternal uncle George Nakashian (Nakash), a portrait photographer. Karsh worked for, and was taught photography by his uncle. He gave Karsh a Box Brownie camera. From 1928 to 1931, Karsh apprenticed in Boston, Massachusetts for John H. Garo, the most prominent Armenian photographer in America at the time who had made a name for himself photographing Boston celebrities.

In 1932, Karsh opened his first studio in 1932, it was located on the second floor of a building at 130 Sparks Street, which was later named the Hardy Arcade. He was known professionally as "Karsh of Ottawa", which was also his signature. He achieved initial success by capturing the attention of Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King, who helped Karsh arrange photography sessions with visiting dignitaries.

Throughout his life, Karsh photographed "anyone who was anyone." When asked why he almost exclusively captured famous people, he replied, "I am working with the world's most remarkable cross-section of people. I do believe it's the minority who make the world go around, not the majority." 

By the time he retired in 1992, more than 20 of his photos had appeared on the cover of Life magazine. Karsh's photos were known for their use of dramatic lighting, which became the hallmark of his portrait style. He had studied it with both Garo in Boston and at the Ottawa Little Theatre, of which he was a member.

in 1941, Karsh’s photograph of Winston Churchill brought him prominence. The photo was taken on December 30, 1941 in the chamber of the Speaker of the House of Commons in the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa after Churchill delivered a speech on World War II to the Canadian members of the parliament. It was arranged by Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King. Churchill is particularly noted for his posture and facial expression, which have been compared to the wartime feelings that prevailed in the UK: persistence in the face of an all-conquering enemy. The photo session was short and, just before exposure, Karsh moved towards Churchill and removed the cigar which he had in his hand. Churchill was miffed and showed his displeasure in the portrait.The photo, which according to The Economist is the "most reproduced portrait in the history of photography", has been described as one of the "most iconic portraits ever shot".

During World War II, Karsh photographed political and military leaders and began capturing photos of writers, actors, artists, musicians, scientists, and celebrities in the post-war period. His 1957 portrait of the American novelist Ernest Hemingway, which was shot at Hemingway's Cuban home Finca Vigia, is another well-known photo by Karsh. 

Besides portraits of the famous, Karsh photographed assembly line workers in Windsor, Ontario, commissioned by the Ford Motor Company of Canada. He also photographed landscapes of Rome and the Holy Land to be included in books in collaboration with Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, an annual poster for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and other works.

I took a liking to this portrait of Albert Einstein the most out of Karsh’s work. Einstein is known worldwide for his genius and his contributions to the scientific world and life as we know it, so I thought it was interesting that Karsh had a dream to photograph Einstein and was able to achieve that dream. I like the use of black and white, but I also like that you can see where the light is focused: on Einstein’s face and hands, I feel it helps to highlight his profile a lot more and is a beautiful photograph to witness. 

This is a portrait of Karsh’s wife, Solange Karsh, in 1958. I liked this image because of the use of shadows over light, Solange is more of a silhouette in this lighting than a well lit sitter. I liked that the background is lite thanks to sunlight and a beautiful woman is stood in the shadows with a cigarette, I liked how different it was to some of his other works where the sitter is lit up well from lighting. In most images, for me anyway, I feel a well lit subject becomes the main focus, the first thing your eyes go to, but this image does the opposite for me. My eyes are drawn to the shadowy figure before anything else in the image.

“To make enduring photographs, one must learn to see with one’s mind’s eye, for the heart and the mind are the true lens of the camera.” 

That is what Yousuf wrote from long experience and what should come first as we think about his portraits.

His camera of choice was large format: 8 by 10 with an interchangeable 4 by 5 back. The developers were to his own formulae because that is what he learned from his early years with George Nakash and John Garo. For negatives, he used special chemicals that allowed a faint green light to reveal the deepening densities so he could judge each one individually. For prints, he had two developers, “hard” and “soft”, and sometimes both would be used on the same photograph–one to bathe the print, and the other to be applied in specific areas with a piece of cotton.

He preferred tungsten lights because he could see the results playing across the faces of his subjects, and they were less disruptive than the flash of strobes. It was like an artist who places paints in the same order on his palette to concentrate fully on the canvas. Yousuf would then make adjustments as the sitting progressed–sometimes minor, sometimes major, but never the same.

He worked with one assistant when traveling or in the studio so as not to break the concentration with his subject–no entourage for hair, make-up, or styling. He was in charge, no matter his subject, and he chose the locations and set-ups.

Once the lighting and composition were to his satisfaction, he would leave the camera with the shutter release innocently in his hand and engage his subject, ready to squeeze the bulb, capture a moment of truth, and share it with us.

That brings me to the final image here, I like that Karsh captured a moment of his wife dancing and smiling, it is a genuine and natural photograph beautifully lit. I like the contrast of the image too: while the background is so dark and there are shadows, Karsh’s wife is beautifully lit and dressed to counter that darkness.

I admire a lot of Karsh’s work, and for my seeing the light project, I hope to make work using him as my inspiration.