Yashar Shayan 12/31/24 Yashar Shayan 12/31/24

Our Beautiful Homelands

This meaningful anthology reflects the humanity, the love for homelands and the dreams of each young person who contributed his or her art artist statement and poem to create a vibrant book of self-portraits.

Chin 2024

Yashar Shayan 12/31/22 Yashar Shayan 12/31/22

The Voice of My Heart: Unforgettable Memories in an Unforgettable Year

These global youth voices offer readers a deeper understanding of the courage that it takes to hold on to the dream for a brighter future and a more peaceful, humane world even as they address with candor and bravery the pressing issues of our times.

Chin 2022

Yashar Shayan 12/31/21 Yashar Shayan 12/31/21

We Are the Future: Poems with A Voice for Peace

Proceeds from this full color book of heartfelt poems and striking images will directly benefit the Stories of Arrival project.

Chin 2021

Yashar Shayan 12/31/18 Yashar Shayan 12/31/18

Holding the Earth Together

The Namaste garden is an IRC New Roots Program for refugee gardeners which also has a focus on youth programs that support learning about food systems and sustainability from a social justice perspective.

Chatwin Books 2018

Yashar Shayan 12/31/15 Yashar Shayan 12/31/15

Our Table of Memories

As the project has grown, so too Merna’s commitment to nourishing community partnerships. In 2015 Merna established an intergenerational collaboration with Project Feast, an organization that serves refugee women that was located at the Tukwila Community Center and is now in Kent.

Chatwin Books 2015

Yashar Shayan 10/30/15 Yashar Shayan 10/30/15

Bridging Borders with Words: Writing with Immigrants and Refugees

Merna’s article, “Poems Without Borders: Writing to Bear Witness” is part of a series in Teachers & Writers Magazine on writers working with immigrants and refugees. Read Merna’s full article here on her work with refugee women in Athens, Greece.