In this episode, Mohammad Hakima tells Jared about immigrating to the United States from Iran, experiencing culture shock in America, and the very different mechanisms of social control he encountered in each country. They discuss the freedoms that can be hard-won in Iran versus the subtler pressures of American life, including what Mohammad calls “manufactured desires”: the ways culture and consumerism can shape what we want while convincing us those desires are entirely our own.
They also talk about how encouragement from others led Mohammad to take writing seriously and how writing ultimately gave him a greater sense of purpose. Mohammad reflects on the different possibilities of fiction and nonfiction, how the act of writing can illuminate where you need to go next, and his decision to pursue an MFA at The New School as a way to build community around a shared passion. They also explore the freedom of learning and teaching in an educational environment that encourages experimentation and the relationships that you can form through an MFA.
Mohammad Hakima is a New York City-based author who moved to the US from Tehran, Iran and started writing after learning to speak English. His work is published in Prairie Schooner, Bellevue Literary Review, Black Warrior Review, Boulevard, Passages North, and more. He is the winner of Boulevard magazine's2024 Nonfiction Contest. He's a 2024 Jack Hazard Fellow and a 2026 Periplus Fellow. He has also received a fellowship from Hawthornden Brooklyn, where he teaches a fiction workshop. His writing has received support from Vermont Studio Center, the Kenyon Writers Workshop, and the Sewanee Writers Conference. He has an MFA in fiction from The New School, and he’s a high school special education teacher. You can find him at mohammadhakima.com.
MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack, Hanamori Skoblow, and Brié Goumaz. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.
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