Suspended Whispers: A Conversation with Roja Chamankar, Emily Beyda, and Jade Fusco

Suspended Whispers is the latest chapbook published by harlequin creature. It is a trilingual illustrated edition of poems in Persian, French & English. The book is a collaboration between three women, all currently based in Austin, Texas: the poet Roja Chamankar, translator Emily Beyda, and artist Jade Fusco. Find the book here. 

Born in Borazjan in southern Iran in 1981, Roja Chamankar is a poet-filmmaker currently residing in Austin, Texas. She has an MA in dramatic literature from the University of Art in Tehran, and another MA in cinema from the University of Strasbourg. She has published nine books of poetry in Persian, co-written two books for children, and translated a collection of poems by Henri Meschonic from French into Persian. Her works have been translated into half a dozen languages and she has won a number of national and international awards for her poetry.

Emily Beyda is a translator, fiction writer, food advice columnist, and mail artist based in Austin, Texas, where she is at work on her first novel. 

Jade Fusco paints, performs, philosophizes, sings, and makes art video. Her pseudonym as creatrix is DMZL, as in “damsel;” yet she is not in distress but rather, in delight; her practice is inspired by a vision of community and collaboration, of theatre and celebratory expression, of taking one’s freedom in hand and not waiting to be saved. In January of 2016, she chose to migrate south to Austin, TX to explore a new home base, and hone in on her vision as a multi-sensory artist.

harlequin creature is a not-for-profit small press imprint founded by Meghan Forbes in New York in 2011. hc puts out hand-made periodical publications, chapbooks, and broadsides several times a year, and hosts literary events in cities across the United States. Find hc online at harlequincreature.org.