Farzana Marie is a poet, writer, artist, dancer, and veteran. She thrives on discovery—finding beauty in the simple, poetry in the unexpected, and potential in the discarded.


Stroke
In 2015, Farzana suffered a massive stroke in Afghanistan, where she was working. Prior to her stroke, she spoke six languages: her beloved Dari (Persian), learned as an adult in Kabul; Arabic, a gift given to her by friends when she was living in Tucson; Kazakh and Russian, self-taught as a teenager; Spanish, the language of her childhood, which she will forever associate with angels singing; and English, her mother tongue.

When Language Left Me
Unfortunately, her stroke has left her with aphasia (loss of language, not intellect)–which makes her new collection of poems all the more impressive: Every poem in When Language Left Me was written AFTER her stroke. These are poems she fought hard to create, wrestling with her brain to get each word out.


Additional Publications
In addition to When Language Left Me, Farzana has edited and translated Afghan women’s poetry into English, Load Poems Like Guns (Holy Cow! Press, 2015). She has also written a poetry chapbook, Letters to War and Lethe (Finishing Line Press, 2014), and a non-fiction book, Hearts for Sale! A Buyer’s Guide to Winning in Afghanistan (Worldwide Writings, 2013).

Individual poems, translations, and scholarly writings have appeared in numerous print and online journals.


Education and Work Experience
Farzana received her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona, with a focus on Persian Literature and a minor in Creative Writing. She also has an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts Boston and a B.S. in Humanities from the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Farzana served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force for ten years, including two consecutive years deployed in Afghanistan (where she previously also served as a civilian volunteer at a Kabul orphanage).


Future Plans
Presently, she is in the planning phase of The Soul of Language Museum, an immersive multi-sensory experience, to be located in New Mexico, where she lives with her husband and daughter. She is also writing her memoir.