Rana Tahir
Poet | Educator | Author
Born in Pakistan and raised on the beaches of Kuwait, Rana Tahir left home to study writing across the United States. When not at her desk preparing lesson plans, writing, or researching, she can be found jumping into lakes and rivers during long hikes, even though she always forgets a bathing suit and must sit in the car in her cold, wet clothes on the ride home. She is a Cancer sun and moon, so she never regrets being in water. She lives in Portland, OR with her husband and two cats.
Professional Bio: Rana Tahir is a poet and educator living in Portland. She is of Pakistani origin and grew up in Kuwait. Earning her MFA from Pacific University, She is a Kundiman Fellow and member of RAWI. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming from Print Oriented Bastards, Bahr Magazine, Poetry Online, Palette Poetry, and Quarterly West among others. She is the author of two books, a textbook on the life and work of Harlem Renaissance poet Countee Cullen and a Choose Your Own Adventure Novel based on the life of World War II Heroine Noor Inayat Khan. Currently, she is working on her next book of fiction which will be forthcoming next year.
Publications
To Yesenin
Our gut has been writing poems to you.
Yesenin, if you are the heart, then
I must be the hands, following orders to
twist the knot and check the grip, for you
taught me not to ignore your calls for rope.
Resting with flowers, made
to look as though you were sleeping,
but we know how alive you were,
kicking your legs in that fanciful dance.
You should have been left hanging.
Your face, in the coffin, a stifled cry.
Heart, if you are crying now, hope is there,
for Harrison and I will join you. For now
our body, our saga, begin with a rope,
is twisting slowly, our feet
barely—
Catch Literary Magazine, Spring 2012
Tahir’s poetry and prose have been published in various literary publications and magazines such as Palette Poetry, BAHR Magazine, Quarterly West, and others.
Artwork
Rana works primarily in oil paint, and occasionally in watercolor and digital painting as well. Her painting collections are paired with poetry collections. Actual sizes are not represented.
Get in Touch
For booking, publication, or teaching opportunities, please use the contact form.
For bookings & inquiries related to Choose Your Own Adventure Spies: Noor Inayat Khan, please contact Choose Your Own Adventure.
Rana Tahir 