He strives for a language that can fuse reality and myth, youthful longings and ancient wisdom, the spiritual and the materialistic. He draws upon many influences, ranging from the poet’s Persian traditions, to poetic traditions both ancient and modern, East and West. Idealism and disillusion stalk side by side. Love duels with anger. The most moving poems document the author’s journey from Iran to Australia and his youthful quest for love. The result is a work-in-progress that lays bare the poet’s desperate struggle for inner peace and meaning in a world engaged in seemingly endless warring and demonisation’ —Arnold Zable