Ari Honarvar

Ari Honarvar is an award-winning writer, author, speaker, and artist dedicated to building bridges between the arts, social justice, and well-being. Her words have appeared in Parents, Teen Vogue, The Guardian, Washington Post, Newsweek, New York Times, and elsewhere. Her TEDx 2023 talk is "When Savoring a Pleasant Moment is a Radical Act."

Honarvar's critically acclaimed debut novel, "A Girl Called Rumi" is a BookFest Award Winner, a Nautilus Award Winner, a Locus Award Finalist, a Foreword INDIES Award Finalist and a Kirkus Reviews best books of 2022. She is the author and illustrator of Rumi’s Gift featuring an oracle deck and an accompanying book of original translations, meditations, stories, and artistic collaboration with the renowned illustrator, Carmen Costello.

As part of her ongoing mission to build bridges through poetry and music across war-torn and conflict-ridden borders, Ari serves as the Iranian Musical Ambassador of Peace. She dances with refugees and facilitates Resilience through Joy workshops for refugees and volunteers on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border and in Europe. Due to the program’s success, she now offers customized versions to educational institutions, groups, nonprofits, and corporations dedicated to social justice.

Her approach has garnered international attention including that of researchers at UCSD and Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development in Germany. As a musical ambassador, she has recently joined the Blueprint Initiative, a partnership between the Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics and the Aspen Institute’s Health, Medicine & Society Program.

Ari’s recent Washington Post op-ed on Arranged Friendships has elicited an overwhelming worldwide response. She has been interviewed by different podcasts and publications on the subject including The Atlantic’s Friendship Files and is now helping facilitate other arranged friendship groups.

A celebrated speaker, Ari presents at conferences, universities, nonprofits, and other venues. Her live performances feature collaborations with musicians from diverse cultures, blending poetry, storytelling, and music into a dynamic and engaging program.

Ari is the founder of the Drop Poems Not Bombs project, sending musical love letters from American musicians to the people of Iran, and Dance for Freedom, a project garnering global support for Iranian protesters.