LIVE from the New York Public Library
As the media tracks Iran's growing nuclear arsenal and its potential as an ideological powder keg, the Islamic Republic looms larger than ever in the American imagination. Yet the country remains grossly misunderstood--seen either as the third pillar of Bush's "axis of evil" or as a nation teeming with teens who clamor for democracy, Western-style. Beneath it all, Iranians--and their lives in the Islamic Republic--remain shrouded in myth and stereotypes. So who in the world are Iranians in these shifting times?

Lila Azam Zanganeh, who aims "to corrode fixed ideas and turn cultural and political clichés on their heads," is editor of *My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes*, and will have a conversation with Azar Nafisi, on the chrysalid of identity politics versus the durable pigments of individual imagination. When politics collide with poetry. A panel will follow with Azar Nafisi, Shirin Neshat, Roya Hakakian, Azadeh Moaveni and Lila Azam Zanganeh, moderator, about the problematic notion of Iranian identity: Who are we in these shifting times and how do we devise ways to formulate it? The panel will give incisive perspectives on race, religion, and sexuality in--and in exile from--the Islamic Republic. Oscar-nominated actress Shohreh Aghdashloo will read from the book, and Sussan Deyhim, the most famous Persian vocalist, will perform.

This event is co-sponsored by PEN American Center.

$15 general admission and $10 library donors, seniors and students with valid identification *BUY TICKETS*