Texas Nafas - Educational Video and Television Programming About Poetry

<body bgcolor="#efbd8c" text="#522110" link="#733129" vlink="#522110" alink="#cc0000"> <div align="center"> <table class="bodytext" width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="0" height="585"> <tr height="18"> <td colspan="3" height="18"> <div align="left"> <h1><i>Texas Nafas</i></h1> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="131"> <div align="center"> <br> <br> <table width="134" border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="0" class="menutable"> <tr> <td><a href="home.html" class="menulink">Home</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="people.html" class="menulink">People</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="program.html" class="menulink">Programming</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="video.html" class="menulink">Poetry on DVD</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="special.html" class="menulink">Special Programs</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="contact.html" class="menulink">Contact Us</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="xconnect/connections.html" class="menulink">Links</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="sitemap.html" class="menulink">Site Map</a></td> </tr> </table> <br> </div> </td> <td align="left" valign="top" width="18"><br> <a href="dbfiles/index.html"><img src="images/11-x-11.gif" alt="" height="11" width="11" border="0"></a></td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <h1><br> </h1> <h2>About Texas Nafas</h2> <p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Nafas</i> is the Farsi expression of the Middle-Eastern word for "breath," which poets of that region use as a metaphor for life and spirit.<br> </font></p> <p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">Texas Nafas breathes poetry. In addition to producing quality television programming of poetry readings and events, and educational videos about poetry, we also produce live poetry presentations and readings in the Austin, Texas, area by notable contemporary poets.</font><br> </p> <table width="98%" border="0" align="center"> <tr height="214"> <td width="512" height="214"> <h3>Mission</h3> <blockquote> <p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">Texas Nafas’ mission is the continued growth of the soul of mankind through poetry. We hope to accomplish our mission by actively sharing poetry with as many people as possible. Our earnest desire is that poetry should be more widely written, recited, performed, published, celebrated, recognized, and praised. We welcome everyone and everything that will help us to bring this dream alive.</font></p> <p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">Become a part of our effort by volunteering or by helping defray the cost of production—click </font><font size="3" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><a onclick="CSAction(new Array(/*CMP*/'BE2FCFB11'));return CSClickReturn();" href="#" csclick="BE2FCFB11">here</a></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> and help us expand our effort to bring poetry's magic into your home.</font></p> </blockquote> </td> </tr> </table> <h3 style="border-left: medium none; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px">History</h3> <blockquote> <p style="border-left: medium none; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">In April 1997, Farid Mohammadi videotaped performances and readings at "BookPeople" and other venues hosting the Austin International Poetry Festival. Farid would invite the exhausted poets to breakfast where he would convince them to be interviewed on camera.<br> <br> From this week of taping, Austin Lite was born, and Mr. Mohammadi began receiving a mass of support from the Austin poetry community. He immediately began soliciting volunteer aid to help in the production of a television program, and by July 1997, four episodes of Austin Lite had been produced. These aired on ACAC and resulted in the first financial donation from the Austin International Poetry Festival. Soon the show was renamed <i>Texas Nafas</i>.<br> </font></p> <p style="border-left: medium none; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">Texas Nafas' core team and volunteers traveled around Texas, and as far as Europe and the Middle-East to tape live literary events. The result was an eclectic mix of programs featuring both unknown and notable contemporary poets that broadcast on Austin Community Access television.</font></p> <p style="border-left: medium none; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">The programs have included readings by and interviews with Ursula Le Guin, Robert Bly, Quincy Troupe, Naomi Shihab Nye, Linda Bierds, Betty Sue Flowers, John Balaban, Olga Broumas, Alan Cheuse, Forrest Gander, Sam Hamill, Jane Hirshfield, John Keeble, Dorianne Laux, Arthur Sze and C. D. Wright. Texas Nafas rapidly gained a viewing audience and the Austin Chronicle called it "the best poetry show ever aired in Austin." Currently there more than 90 produced television shows, and has over 2,500 hours of footage archived. </font></p> <p style="border-left: medium none; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">We are very grateful to the volunteers who have shared our vision too, and helped us reach new audiences. The show began airing on Berkeley California public access recently—and will soon air in San Antonio and Dallas!</font></p> <p style="border-left: medium none; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">Texas Nafas has received support from over two hundred local and national living poets; the City of Austin; professors from the humanities at Austin area schools, colleges and universities; arts organizations; independent galleries; bookstores; individuals; corporations; and small businesses.</font></p> <p style="border-left: medium none; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">In the near future, Texas Nafas plans to release its <i>Poetry Journal,</i> a series educational videos that is gaining widespread recognition as being among the best classroom resources for teaching poetry available. Poetry Journal will be a set of six DVD / VCR recordings of conversations between eminent poet-scholars that covers ten of the most renoun poets of the English language.</font></p> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="5" height="172"> <tr> <td width="42%" height="164"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><br> </font> <p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">The original Texas Nafas team was based in Austin, Texas, and put many hours and many miles travel behind them to make poetry accessible to a mass audience. Thank you.<br> <br> Texas Nafas was organized and is operated principally by its Executive Director and Producer, Farid Mohammadi.<br> </font></p> </td> </tr> </table> <h3 style="border-left: medium none; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px">Board of Directors</h3> <p style="border-left: medium none; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">Farid Mohammadi, Founder, President, Texas Nafas<br> Robert Hewgley, Director of Real Estate, Texas General Land Office; Chairman, Board of Dirtectors for Texas Nafas<br> Stephen Harnsberger, Secretary-Treasurer, Texas Nafas<br> Paul Christensen, Professor, English Department, Texas A & M University<br> Zara Houshmand<br> Herman M. Nelson, Founder of Austin International Poetry Festival<br> Chuck Taylor, Professor, English Department, Texas A & M University<br> </font></p> <h3 style="border-left: medium none; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px"><br> Advisory Board Members</h3> <p style="border-left: medium none; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">Susan Bright, Publisher, Plain View Press<br> Cynthia Cone, Dean, English Department, Austin Community College<br> Diane Howard, Ph.D., Professor of Performance Studies, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor University<br> David Lydic, Professor, English Department, Austin Community College<br> Peggy Zuleika Lynch, Founder of Poetry in the Arts, Inc.<br> Bryce Milligan, Editor/Publisher, Wings Press, San Antonio, Texas<br> Robert Bonazzi, Associate Editor, Wings Press, San Antonio, Texas<br> </font></p> <h3 style="border-left: medium none; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px"><br> Supporters</h3> <p style="border-left: medium none; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">Poetry in the Arts, Inc., Creative and promotional support, and Web site design and maintenance.</font></p> </blockquote> <p><br> </p> </td> </tr> </table> <br> <a href="privacy.html" class="navlinks" target="_blank">Privacy Policy</a> | <a href="privacy.html" class="navlinks" target="_blank">Acceptable Use Policy</a></div> </body>