Right Brain feels oh, so right!

By: Zoe Ghahremani

When asked what is music, Victor Hugo said, " Music expresses something that cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." Art is the same as  it expresses what there are no words for. When you love a painting, it speaks volumes to you. The right side of the brain is so right! In defies separation of words from color, sound, or light. It's an umbrella for all that and the possibilities have no end.

Sometimes I think I must have known this as a child as I recall a time when nothing could stop me from discovering new artistic projects. I gave hand-made gifts on birthdays, wrote lyrics to my favorite tunes, cut pictured off magazines to make a collage. I sewed dresses, knitted sweaters, and learned to weave my own straw hats. While being pushed into science , and in the absence of formal training, I became a child poet, wrote short stories, and painted what I was unable to write. To this day, the interchange continues to fascinate me and that alone may be the reason I’ve never experienced what we call “a writer’s block."

With the ongoing events in Iran, the last chapters of Sky of Red Poppies kept on changing. Over the years, while writing and rewriting this story, from time to time I let my poppies rest on a canvas. The present cover of this novel comes from one such painting. To me, they are but volumes of the same book, whose words can only be understood by those who know art. Why did I use turquoise instead of a sky blue? You may be familiar with the Persian Turquoise, but did you know that in Persian poetry, “the turquoise dome” is a metaphor for sky? When I describe a scene, my mind paints, and in creating characters, words become my fine brush. In short, where the pen fails, “right brain” is so free, it has no trouble finding a suitable substitute.

This year, after I finished my final touches on The Moon Daughter, I left the computer and hid myself in a room with a big “Do not disturb” sign on its door. The result is my little “Moon Daughter”, who now sits on the cover of the newly released novel. Maybe there will never be a border between my outlets of expression. Then again, why should there be?

Yes, I am indeed a right brainer and I thank God for it every emotional day of my life!