Iranian Poetry Available in English

An unveiling ceremony for three bilingual books (English and Persian) of selected poems by contemporary Iranian poets Qeysar Aminpur, Tahereh Saffarzadeh and Salman Harati is scheduled for October 31 at Hozeh-Honari (Art Bureau), affiliated to Islamic Development Organization, in Tehran.

“As per an agreement between London-based Academy of Iranian Studies and Hozeh-Honari, we decided to publish the translations of selected poems by contemporary poets, particularly those active during the 1979 Islamic Revolution,” YJC reported Salman Safavi, head of academy, as saying.

Aminpur (1960-2007) was one of the known representatives of revolution and resistance literature. Death and its different manifestations are among the brilliant concepts of his works composed during 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.He saw painful death afflicted by war from two different viewpoints, one is the ordinary people’s approach, in which death is a disastrous event for innocent children and women which shows the brutality of the enemy and the obscenity of war. The other perspective is that of the combatants in which death is sublime.

Saffarzadeh (1336-2008) was a distinguished poet, writer, translator and prominent university lecturer, and Harati (1959-1986) was also one of the poets of revolution era with a new vision and language in his truthful and simple poems. Nature and man`s relation to his Creator are the common features found in his works.

The venue, located at the intersection of Somayeh and Hafez Streets, will be hosting the event between 2-4 pm.

About the academy’s future plans, Safavi said selected poems from poets like Mohamadreza Shafiei-Kadkani and Hossein Monzavi are being translated and will be available soon.

Shafiei-Kadkani, 78, is a Persian writer, poet, literary critic, editor, and translator. He graduated from University of Tehran with a PhD in Persian literature and currently teaches literature. He is best known for his works on literary criticism and modern Persian poetry.

Monzavi (1946-2003) was a prominent Iranian poet, essayist and translator who had great influence on Iranian learning and literature. His poems are primarily in Persian but he has also contributed to poetry in Azeri language.