De Anza’s canon of published instructors expands with the latest addition courtesy of Azin Arefi.

Arefi, an English instructor, has a poem included in the Spring-Summer 2010 issue of “Blue Moon” Literary & Art Review.

The poem, titled “The Bridge,” has to do with the sometimes overlooked and unspoken topic of suicide. Arefi says that part of art is trying to take something that is taboo or unattractive and bringing it to the forefront.

The impetus for writing about this topic is rooted in a rather unique connection Arefi learned she shared with a local landmark.

“Opening day for the Golden Gate Bridge was on May 28, 1937, and I was born May 28, 1977,” Arefi said. “It was 40 years exactly, to the date.”

Arefi researched and learned the Golden Gate Bridge has the grim title of being the number 1 spot for people wishing to commit suicide. Reading an article in The New Yorker, Arefi found a young girl whose point of view became the inspiration for the poem.

Arefi hopes the poem sheds light on the responsibility we all shoulder to help those in need, and that there is assistance for people. A simple act by a stranger can go a long way. As it says in the poem, “Then, a crazy thought: I won’t jump if one person smiles at me./She kept walking./No one smiled. No one came near.”

The influence of one person’s story varies greatly when juxtaposed against a study or a statistic, Arefi says.

Writing is an arduous process, and one has to keep trying, no matter what. This is a lesson Arefi wants writers and students in her classes to take away from their writing.

“For my students, I just want them to try, try and see where it gets them,” Arefi said. “If you never try, you’ll never know.

Arefi stresses the importance of writing, though explaining that other aspects of life will involve the art form.

“Any field you want to go into requires you to express yourself and articulate yourself and that’s what writing helps you do,” Arefi said. “It lets you take out the chaos, jumble and bring it into a nice form.”

Arefi’s other publications include work in the Momaya Annual Review and a short story included in “Let Me Tell You Where I’ve Been,” a collection of stories written by Iranian women of the diaspora, and used in Arefi’s International Fiction class she teaches in the winter. Arefi also has works pending, including another work to be apart of the Fall 2010 issue of Blue Moon, as well as an anthology of works she’s apart of called “Love and Pomegranates.”

Learn more about Blue Moon by going to http://www.bluemoonlitartreview.com