Hello everyone,

I started writing poetry in 2001, and started a poetry blog in 2010. The mystical poems of Rumi are what inspired me to start writing poetry.

I write for pleasure, but now, you will be able to buy a selection of my poems on Amazon.   The title of the work is ‘Feeling Fortunate but Awful’.  It chronicles my journey of understanding  and coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder or winter depression.  It shows that we can learn and grow by going through difficult times and that facing the challenges of life is essential to our development.    I hope the book will help us better understand depression, and show how we can be supportive of those who are experiencing it.

A second collection of poems, Collage of Me was completed in 2018.  It deals with issues of immigration, identity and belonging.

A third collection of poems was published in 2019.  A bottle of joy: Poems to tickle your fancy is a compilation of light hearted poems about daily life, my children, social media and aging. I hope the poems bring a smile to your face.

You can also find me on Instagram under lidas_musings.

July 21st, 2017

I was born in Iran, and moved to Canada with my family when I was fifteen years old.  I attended a bilingual elementary school, so I was comfortable in English when we arrived.  And I really liked the language as well, and languages in general.  I attended grade 10-12 in Vancouver, and then spent a few years at the University of British Columbia, trying to figure out what I wanted to study.  Even though I started with the Sciences, my degree is in Psychology and I have a certificate in teaching English as a Second Lanugae to adults.

My husband is from Holland and how we met is another story.  He moved to Canada after we got married and continued his studies in Biochemistry, eventually getting his PhD.   I mention that because all of our moves after that time have been related to his work.  I decided to stay home and raise our kids, and he presued his career.  Eventually I did go back to work part time and I teach English to new immigrants in Quebec right now.

I’ve lived in five countries so far:  Iran, England, the Netherlands, Canada and the US, and know four languages:   Persian, English, French and Dutch.  And eventhough my mother tongue is Persian, I write my poems and pretty much everything else that I write in English.  I would say, English is my dominant language now.  It’s the language I live in, read for the most part, and write in as well.

I have grappled with issues of identity in the past, but I’m at a very contented place right now, not having the feeling that I need to define myself, either as Persian or Canadian.  I guess I’m a bit of both and what I realize right now is that what matters is the kind of Person that I am, not my nationality.  My qualities, strengths, and weaknesses, define me.  My experiences living in various countries have shaped me into the person I am today, more than the place I was born in. I’m proud of my Persian heritage and I’m very happy that it helped me discover poetry at this stage of my life.

I have three wonderful children who are at college and universtiy, trying to find their own way, and my husband kindly supports me in my projects, writing or otherwise.

2 Comments