Mona Arshi: Poetry and Defamiliarization

I happened to meet Mona Arshi at high table in Trinity College, Cambridge, where she is “Fellow Commoner in the Creative Arts.” (Oxbridge colleges have some idiosyncratic titles…). As I heard from her about her life and work I immediately began hoping she would agree to be a guest on Luminous. Hoping I wouldn’t sound too forward, I asked then and there. Over a couple of subsequent meetings we sowed the seeds of what became a memorable Luminous conversation. I appreciated how, in a write-up she gave to a literary magazine, she really caught what we’re trying to do here:

“One of the most horizon expanding encounters I’ve had this year is listening to a podcast curated by Peter Bouteneff. I love the way the threads around spirituality and creativity are gently pulled in these conversations….”

Please consult Mona’s biography and publications at monaarshi.com - I recommend her work highly. It reaches me deeply, and given my complex relationship with poetry that says a lot.

Mona and me, just after we recorded our Luminous episode, outside the offices of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, in Cambridge, UK.