Rachlin biography

Like many early Iranian immigrants, she came at a time when US-Iranian relations were positive and when the United States actively supported Mohammad Reza Shah and his policies. Iran and Iranian culture were virtually unknown to most Americans and what little connection they made with that nation was with Persian cats and carpets.

Rachlin, who married an American man and later became a citizen, had always dreamed of becoming a writer. In 1978, she published her first novel, Foreigner, to critical acclaim. Foreigner explored the contours of alienation/outsiderness, in both the context of being an Iranian immigrant and in her own country.

Since the publication of her first novel, Rachlin has been productive as a writer and teacher, and is arguably one of the pioneers of what was early on referred to in some circle