Despite Exile

This book explores the psychosocial significance of loss and exclusion in the lives of many Iranian immigrants living in London since the Iranian revolution of 1979. It addresses the experiences of middle-class Iranians who left Iran in both ‘voluntary’ contexts (immigration) and in ‘enforced’ contexts (exile). The author elucidates the experiences of ‘ordinary’ middle-class Iranians who chose to leave Iran given the socio-politico-cultural context of the changes wrought by the Islamic Republic in Iranian society. Mahnaz Sekechi argues that losses of country, liberty and security in Iran combined with varying degrees of social exclusion and downward mobility in London have led to an encapsulated sadness for many, despite their capacity for creative living. The book also demonstrates the value of psychosocial analysis in understanding dislocations in general and their effects on wellbeing.

EMA is the solo performing moniker of guitarist/vocalist Erika M. Anderson, who shaped her experimental voice and guitar techniques in two well-regarded underground bands before setting off on her own. Anderson, who moved to Los Angeles from South Dakota when she was 18, played guitar with folk-noise outfit Amps for Christ in the late '90s and early 2000s, then formed the psych-folk band Gowns in 2004 with former Mae Shi member Ezra Buchla. After making three albums, Gowns disbanded in early 2010, and Anderson began working on solo material that included that year's Night People release, Little Sketches on Tape. Her single Grey Ship arrived about a year later and boasted a 17-minute version of Robert Johnson's "Kind Hearted Woman" that managed to reinvent the song drastically while remaining true to its spirit. Her debut album, Past Life Martyred Saints, appeared on Souterrain Transmissions in mid-2011.

Embroiled in the political events surrounding World War I and the failed Hungarian revolutions of 1918-19, a number of intellectuals fled Hungary for Germany and Austria, where they essentially created Weimar culture.