CEHD Reads: An evening with Marina Nemat, author of Prisoner of Tehran Wednesday, November 10, 2010 | 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Northrop Auditorium

Marina Nemat, author of Prisoner of Tehran, will speak followed by a Q&A. The book is a memoir of Nemat's imprisonment in Iran in the early years after the 1979 Revolution. As part of CEHD Reads, all incoming undergraduates will study the book in their First Year Inquiry (FYI) classes in the Department of Postsecondary Teaching and Learning. All alumni and friends of the college are encouraged to read the book and attend this talk.

Nemat describes her experience of political upheaval, repression, and resettlement and explores the circumstances that may force people to leave their home country. As with past CEHD Reads books, Prisoner of Tehran addresses the shared inquiry: Can one person make a difference? After 20 years of silence about her detention and torture, Nemat felt compelled to share her story to make a difference.

Nemat was incarcerated in Evin, the notorious prison where young Americans, arrested while hiking in northern Iran, have been held for over a year. Dakota journalist Roxana Saberi was imprisoned there last year.

Nemat will donate a portion of her speaking fee to the Center for Victims of Torture, another way that she continues to make a difference. During the day on Nov. 10, she will lead the FYI class and provide students with a more intimate opportunity to ask questions. And on Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m., she will read from her new book, After Tehran, at Magers & Quinn Booksellers in Minneapolis.

For more information, see the CEHD Reads website.