A Poetry Friday Post
Two years ago, I tutored an Afghan student. She was living abroad as a refugee from her home country. We tackled an 8th-grade curriculum together, which included algebra, English as a second language, geography, and science. It was a fulfilling role for me.
Towards the end of our year together, her teachers at her residential school assigned her to read Persepolis. I had never heard of this book. So, to enable me to “tutor” her on the story’s message, I turned to the internet to research the book and found a YouTube video, which I will link below.
To say I felt inadequate is an understatement.
Persepolis is a graphic novel that tells the story of a young girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. It was eye-opening. The story delves into themes of coming of age, identity, and individualism in a place foreign to most of us in the United States.
Why am I writing this today?
The author, Marjane Satrapi, has died. She was only 56! It was reported this morning by the New York Times. You can read about her in the following link:
The circumstances surrounding her death have not been announced at the time of this writing. But, whatever the case may be, this is a loss – not only for those who knew her but for the world.
If you are not familiar with the story of Persepolis, which closely follows the author’s own life, I would highly recommend you read it. History is important. Sometimes, perhaps even often, the history of what others around the world experience is not explored in our cultural education.
The movie, Persepolis, which follows the story in the graphic novel (2007), is available on YouTube, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV. It was FREE when I watched it two years ago. According to some of the video comments, it was FREE up until the beginning of the recent war with Iran. Still, if you have access to one of those streaming services, the movie is listed for $3.99. It is worth it.
Better yet, you can read the book (2004). It’s available now on Amazon for $7.27 (60% off). I am not an Amazon affiliate – so that is not why I am sharing this.
Some of you have written about the heinous act of banning books. Persepolis has been banned in certain places. It was a New York Times Best Seller. Again, I would highly recommend it.
By doing so, you will learn about another culture – one that we are in conflict with now for ambiguous reasons touted by our own questionable government. You will learn about war through a child’s eyes.
We need to understand others. We need to embrace diversity. We need tolerance and respect. The world would be a better place if we all learned about the culture of those different than our own.
Read or view Persepolis. Let me know what you think.
I believe I learned more from exploring this book with my tutee than she did. For being a child in war-torn Afghanistan, she experienced similar cultural atrocities to Persepolis – something many of us are blessed to not know or experience.
It inspired the following haiku:
Death, destruction, fear
Children of war-torn countries
Suffer for us all
© Carol Labuzzetta, 2026
I was not planning to participate in Poetry Friday this week until I read of Marjane Satrapi’s untimely death. May she rest in peace, and may the world find it. We need it desperately.
We are almost home from our two-week trip to visit all five National Parks in Utah. We are blessed to live in a beautiful country.
Do you have a favorite National Park? Let me know in the comments!
This week, Poetry Friday is hosted by the talented and kind Mona Voelkel at her same-named blog. Thanks for hosting, Mona!
Carol, so happy you shared this personal story and this poignant haiku. Yes, truly the “Children from war-torn countries/suffer for us all.” Your love for teaching and empathy for your students and all children shines so brightly through this post. I am ordering Persepolis! Thank you for this post and enjoy the rest of your trip-love the breathtaking photos!
Thank you for honoring this woman, an author and hero. This year, an Afghan student I have known for three years and is moving on to HS wrote me the most beautiful thank you card. I literally cannot read it without tearing up. The resilience of this child….I will always champion learners from other countries. Thank you for doing that too.
I agree that your personal connection to this book and topic was too important not to write about! Thanks for the bonus pictures of your trip — GORGEOUS!!
hi carol out there in the vistas of the west! the scenes are all breath-taking, especially the Landscape Arch. keep enjoying your scenic sojourn.
appreciations to you & all of us who help people from other nations settle in a new strange land. …..because the artist, marjane satrapi, died in her home country of many years, France, where she was a much honored naturalized citizen, the french palace announced her passing. in that adopted country, where she had also studied art, as an outspoken govt. critic.
to answer your lovely title question – bbc news online is our first go-to, every day. we have spent time with our family members who are also citizens of Sicily in Italy & in Bulgaria, & learned to search for english-language news online of ….[name of region, city, country] of c interest no matter if we want to know about the latest volcano erruption in Sicily or the recent 2026 winning Eurovision winning entry for Bulgaria. [you also have to vet a site, before you go to it when it’s ‘unknown…& not bbc, reuters or any of the other long-estab. intl .news gatherers.
back on the huge loss of marjane satrapi bbc interviewed unnamed friends, who say she has been heartbroken nearly all the time, in the year since the passing of her beloved husband, Mattias Ripa. our family read & appreciated the first persepolis book for it’s slyness & clever odd manner of sharing a horrible truth. [ we didin’t keep up with the further iterations of persepolis but saw how honored the continuing sereis became’ marjane satrapi was…brilliant. so sad she is gone from this planet.
glad you popped in to #poetryfriday – appreciations! hugs from far away…
Thanks for this post, Carol. I’d read of the author’s death and saw the book title mentioned, but prior to that had not heard of either. It’s so easy to live fully in one’s own bubble. Thanks for reminding me how important it is to step outside of that bubble and engage in other cultures and grow our understanding, shift our perspective, etc. I’ll be looking for this book. On a lighter note, your photos are gorgeous and you’ve just catapulted Utah to a more prominent spot on the list of places I need to visit. Enjoy your travels!
I put Persepolis on hold before reading this post. I think it’s so important to read about other cultures. The photos of your trip are stunning. Thanks for popping in today with this book and your tutoring experience.
Wider windows, deeper doors–we all need chances to walk in very unfamiliar footwear! The example of discovering PERSEPOLIS as you tutored a young person who had lived through something similar is precisely why. Thanks for this post. I had not read of Marjane’s passing, and I’ll use this occasion to finally read something that has long been on my list!
I saw the news this week of Marjane Satrapi’s death, but I have not read Persepolis. I need to put it on my TBR list. Thank you, Carol.