Walking with the Wind

Walking with the Wind collects photographs and poems by Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, created during his travels through Iran and beyond. The black and white photographs focus on solitary trees in stark landscapes while the haiku-inspired verses reflect on nature, movement, and isolation. The photographs span decades of Kiarostami's work behind the camera, showing his interest in capturing minimalist scenes from rural and remote locations. His poems mirror the visual content through spare language and meditative observations of wind, leaves, and shadows. The combination of image and text demonstrates themes of impermanence and the relationship between humans and the natural world. This collection reveals another dimension of Kiarostami's artistic vision, highlighting how his sensibilities extend beyond cinema into photography and poetry.

Readers appreciate Kiarostami's poetic observations about nature and everyday moments, finding the haiku-like verses meditative and contemplative. Multiple readers note how the short poems capture fleeting moments and sensations, particularly involving wind, trees, and natural phenomena. What readers liked: - Simplicity and accessibility of the poems - Connection to nature and seasons - Calming, mindful quality - Black and white photographs complement the text What readers disliked: - Some found the poems too brief or sparse - Translation from Persian loses some nuance - Limited availability and high price of physical copies Ratings: Goodreads: 4.18/5 (173 ratings) Amazon: 4.7/5 (11 ratings) "These poems act like tiny windows into moments of pure awareness," wrote one Goodreads reviewer. Another noted: "The sparseness forces you to slow down and really consider each image." Several Persian readers mentioned preferring the original Farsi versions for their stronger rhythm and wordplay.

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The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa The fragments of a poet's life in Lisbon create a portrait of existence through observations of daily life.

Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman Short vignettes explore different conceptions of time through the lens of a young physicist in Switzerland.

The Man with the Compound Eyes by Wu Ming-Yi Environmental themes interweave with personal narratives in this tale of connection between Taiwan and a floating island of trash.

The Conference of the Birds by Farid ud-Din Attar A Persian poem follows birds on their spiritual journey through valleys of meaning and understanding.

🌿 "Walking with the Wind" was originally published in Persian (its native language) as "Bad O Barg" meaning "Wind and Leaf" 🎬 Abbas Kiarostami was primarily known as an acclaimed Iranian filmmaker, making this poetry collection a lesser-known facet of his artistic expression 🍃 The book contains 114 haiku-inspired poems that focus on nature, particularly the interplay between wind, leaves, and trees 📝 Although written in Persian, these poems follow the spirit of Japanese haiku, demonstrating Kiarostami's fascination with minimalist Eastern poetry forms 🌏 The collection has been translated into multiple languages, with each version attempting to maintain the delicate balance between simplicity and profound meaning that characterized Kiarostami's poetic vision