By Sodaba Faizi
My Father’s Garden (or Bāgh-e Padaram | باغ پدرم)
Main themes: Land, memory, inheritance
This is a tribute to my father’s hand, land, and memories be planted in the soil.
“We are created from the soil, and we will return to it.”
ما از خاک آفریده شدهایم و به خاک باز خواهیم گشت”
I want to start by saying, this project is very meaningful to me. It started as something unexpected. I never imagined I would create a website like this—an environmental autobiography. But after taking this class with Professor Finney, I began to reflect on how land, memory, and identity are deeply connected in my grandfather, my father and my life.
I could write poems, or explore another form of art, but I realized what I truly wanted was to create a space that could hold stories—stories of land, of displacement, of planting, of loss and return. These stories differ from person to person and place to place. However, they all carry meaning. Another main reason why I created this website is to keep my father’s memory of land and our shared connection to the soil alive.
This website is also an invitation. I hope others will share their own stories of land—whether it’s a childhood garden, a tree your grandfather planted, or a place you’ve longed for.
We will learn from each other and remember togather.
