October 16, 2023.
Today, I had the great pleasure interviewing Mehran Hashemi, who is a Persian poet, born in the great country of Iran. I hope ILA bookworms enjoy reading about this most talented writer.
"LIGHT NEEDS DARKNESS TO SHINE"
BIO: Mehran Hashemi, aka Hush M E (born 11 December 1993) , is a Persian poet, animation director, activist and author. Born in Tehran, Iran, Hashemi began his English poetry writing journey in 2019. He published his debut poetry book in 2023. The title is "Light Needs Darkness to Shine." The broken pieces of his soul and the pieces of his poetry are intertwined.
CARL: Good morning, Mehran and thank. you for being with us, today. Your debut poetry book, "Light Needs Darkness to Shine" just came out this year and we would love to know a little bit about your book and you. How did you become interested in poetry and what motivated you to pursue it as a form of expression? - MEHRAN: It's a great question. Everyone thinks it comes to the writers all of a sudden. No, I can say this already within the writers. People can see the volcano. But they are not aware of what is happening inside of the mountain before the volcano. So not only is it a talent, but it's also the experiences and the things the writer is going through. And I wasn't an exception, many things led me to start writing poetry. Many traumas since I've known myself, I hope I can answer this briefly, but it's a challenge. I used to have struggles with physical health in my childhood and then had struggles with mental health in my youth. a sun was beating in her chest and when people broke her heart she started bleeding the lights through the cracks of her soul © hush m e
I believe some or maybe all humans are light. And when they break, they have this opportunity to shine authentically. Because their souls are free and can show them the path. All those struggles made me a shy person, an introverted person who can't make friends easily and connect to the world outside.
𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒊 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚
𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔
𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓
𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕
© hush m e
Being extra introverted means, you have no friends and this made me feel a dark lonesome. 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒐𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆
𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆
𝒊 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓
𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓
𝒔𝒐 𝒊 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒅
𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅
© hush m e
One of the main reasons that motivated me to pick up the pen was the chaotic situation in my country.
Many toxic ultra-religious laws and no basic human rights, corrupted and thieves, governors made me start
writing verses against them in Persian.
CARL: How does Iranian culture and history influence your poetry? Are there specific themes or motifs that recur in your writing because of your Iranian heritage?
-
MEHRAN: One cannot help but be influenced by his environment and, of course, I've been influenced by the rich
poetry of my country. Iran has many great poets, such as Rumi, Shams, Saadi, Ferdowsi, Hafiz, Khayyam and many
others, but I'm writing poetry in English, so I can say it comes from both East and West Cultures.
my soul talks to me
and the conversation is poetry
© hush m e
I write what comes to me and I'm glad that people like my words.
CARL: What advice would you give to new writers who aspire to become poets?
- MEHRAN: As I mentioned earlier, poets and literary artists don't become who they are. It's not a profession that you choose to have. I say to the writers, believe in yourself because you are the light. And if you truly believe in your light, then you can overcome darkness and you will realize how much darkness helped you to shine. So keep going. Keep following your intuition. in the darkest time of her life the stars taught her if she wants to shine she has to embrace the darkness © hush m e This is for the new writers on why they shouldn't give up on their dreams. I haven't spent even one cent on my poetry. I built poetry pages on social media despite many censorships in Iran. I wrote and wrote without paying attention to the negative feedback. I believed in myself. Day by day, I could build a genuine page on Instagram and make many friends from around the world, and then I could publish my poetry book. So, if I could do all this without spending anything, but my heart and time, then you could do it as well.
CARL: Who do you write your poetry for and what do you hope your readers will take away from your work?
-
MEHRAN: Poetry is the true friend that I don't have. It's also therapeutic and I feel better when I write.
i put stress on these words
perhaps these words reduce my stress
because you don't know where these words come from
sometimes from this broken heart
sometimes from the toxic thoughts
sometimes from beneath the burning layers of this skin
perhaps one day i just collapse then you see the fallen words were too heavy
for the shoulders of this corpse.
© hush m e
It can be for anything or anyone or sometimes just a fantasy.
I write love, sensual, sad, deep, and healing pieces so they come from
different vibes and days. I sometimes write for my people, as their courage
is inspiring and their pain motivates me to raise my voice.
how sad it is
that the drops
of my people's blood
aren't as expensive as
the drops of
my homeland's oil
to the world
© hush m e
And that's why my pen name is Hush M E. It comes from my last name, "Hashemi".
Hush Me...this is what I tell my government because I believe they can't do this as
my voice is written in silence.
CARL: Please tell us about your upcoming projects or goals you have as a poet? - MEHRAN: I recently worked on an anthology and have presently been featured on Wordsmith magazine. The anthology is by an artist who is brought poetry into her book for her artworks. My resolution for next year is to publish my second poetry book. I now have a little more experience, so I hope my next book can sell better and get more reviews. My debut poetry book is now available on Amazon and Goodreads title is: "Light Needs Darkness to Shine." I hope you buy it and enjoy it, and if you do, please leave me an honest review.
CARL: Thank you, Mehran, for your time today, my final question is: What do you like best about ILA Magazine and Facebook Group?
-
MEHRAN: This is an easy question! I've been in some writing groups on Facebook and I enjoy spending time with others, there. Annette Nasser and Carl Scharwath from ILA Magazine supported me so much since they read my. pieces in their group. Such beautiful and nice souls that their support and encouraging words made my heart feel warmth.
Thank you for allowing me to interview with your amazing magazine. I tried my best to answer the questions and
I hope you enjoy reading this interview.
Thank you for having me.
Sincerely,
Mehran Hashemi
CARL: We at ILA, look forward, Mehran, in following your future success as a poet as well as always wishing you the best in your life. here is a poet who has struggled to get his voice heard and is an inspiration to all of us. Please keep us posted with your journey and all of us at ILA Magazine are here to help you.
Read more about the Author's book on Amazon: LIGHT NEEDS DARKNESS TO SHINE
and on Goodreads
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