Vick Mickunas' 2021 interview with Melody Moezzi
Melody Moezzi made her first appearance on the program to discuss her latest memoir. It just came out in paperback. In this captivating book the author shares her powerful story about battling writer's block and depression and how the poetry of the Persian mystic Rumi eventually brought her solace and inspiration.
Her father had been sharing Rumi's poetry with his daughter for as long as she could remember. But it never really sank in until she needed it the most.
Melody teaches creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and she has a long association with our region. She grew up in Dayton. Her dad was an obstetrician for many years here in the Miami Valley.
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The Book Nook on WYSO is presented by the Greene County Public Library with additional support from Washington-Centerville Public Library, Clark County Public Library, Dayton Metro Library, and Wright Memorial Public Library.
Vick Mickunas introduced the Book Nook author interview program for WYSO in 1994. Over the years he has produced more than 1500 interviews with writers, musicians, poets, politicians, and celebrities. Listen to the Book Nook with Vick Mickunas for intimate conversations about books with the writers who create them. Vick Mickunas reviews books for the Dayton Daily News and the Springfield News Sun.
CXMH Podcast (#106): Rumi, Personal Healing, & Fighting Injustice with Love
This week we’re joined by Melody Moezzi, author of the new book The Rumi Prescription: How an Ancient Mystic Poet Changed My Modern Manic Life. She talks with us about Rumi, her experiences with a bipolar diagnosis, the challenges between faith & mental healthcare, and how to fight injustice with love instead of anger. In the intro, Robert & Holly talk about end-of-the-school year traditions.
Podcast: Spilling Chai - Anushay talks Persian poetry with Melody Moezzi
Hello Everyone! Welcome to Episode 4 of “Spilling Chai” coming to you live from Washington, DC on yet another sunny and stunning Spring day. I cannot believe we are already on the FOURTH episode of this podcast. Thank you guys for making me feel so welcome in this new space and for spilling chai with us!
So when I first decided that I was going to do a podcast, one thing I was sure of before I even knew how to work a podcast app was that I wanted this show to feature the voices of really strong women of color— our perspectives, our expertise, our stories, our lives, and our work.
Today’s guest not only epitomizes what I mean when I say a “strong woman of color,” but she is also someone who when I came across her work early in my career made a huge impact on me: I am talking about Melody Moezzi.
Thank you!
WHYY's The Pulse: Mental Health in Times of Crisis (clip) →
It was great to be included in a segment of WHYY’s The Pulse to discuss how I’m coping and staying well during the pandemic.
1 minute clip: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ep3gf2ga1hhxyr4/moezzi_thepulse20200403.mp3
Full episode: https://whyy.org/episodes/mental-health-in-times-of-crisis
Mental Health in Times of Crisis
Air Date: April 3, 2020
The COVID-19 outbreak is creating increased demand for mental health services — lots of people are feeling anxious, or are getting depressed. At the same time, traditional mental health services have been disrupted. In-person sessions are not possible at the moment, nor are group sessions. How are providers and their clients adjusting? We take a look at mental health services and what people are doing to stay well during these difficult times. We also hear stories of families affected by serious mental health issues, and why they say the system fails too many people.
Also heard on this week’s episode:
Dawn Brown, director of community engagement for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), discusses her organization’s guide for dealing with the fallout of COVID-19.
We talk with Jonathan Singer, a professor of social work at Loyola University, about how the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing our mental health system to offer services online.
Psychiatrist and documentarian Kenneth Paul Rosenberg talks about his recent film and book, “Bedlam: An Intimate Journey into America’s Mental Health Crisis,” which traces the failure of the U.S. mental health system.
When you’re faced with a mental health crisis, who do you call? Internist and regular Pulse contributor Neda Frayha explains why primary care physicians might be the first and only access point for some people with mental health issues.
Karriem Salaam, an adolescent and child psychiatrist at Friends Hospital in Philadelphia, discusses how people with previous trauma or mental health issues are coping during this global crisis.
Author Melody Moezzi shares how poetry is helping her through difficult times. Her new book is “The Rumi Prescription.”
Psychologist Scott Haas discusses how reframing our general take on this crisis could help us deal with this situation.
WUNC's The State of Things: ‘The Rumi Prescription’ Embraces The Nuances of Insanity (interview by Frank Stasio)
Growing up in Ohio, Melody Moezzi resented her father’s obsession with Rumi’s poetry. While his run-on couplets reminded her father of the Iran he loved and had to flee from, for her, his mysticism was contrary to the tenets of American identity she received in school.
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