Category Archives: literature

In his speeches, [Khameini] has often cited Lenin’s phrase that if an ideology is not supported by art it will die.

From an article called “The Secrets of Khameini’s Life,” written by Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Khameini, Iran’s Supreme Ruler, cares deeply about poetry and what I finnd interesting in this brief profile is the account of how poetry and politics … Continue reading

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The People of Iran…

…took to the streets again, and the irony is not lost on me that while they were doing so I was proofreading the manuscript of The Teller of Tales, my translation of the first five stories in their national epic, the … Continue reading

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Why Vida’s “The Count” Matters to Me

The results of Vida’s The Count 2010 reveal a shocking, though not really surprising, disparity–weighed heavily in favor of men–between the numbers of male and female writers published, reviewed and reviewing in some of our most prominent literary magazines. As … Continue reading

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MIND MELD: Rereading

Over at Mind Meld, John DeNardo asked (on behalf of Derryl Murphy), “What science fiction, fantasy, and/or horror books do [you] read and re-read again?” There are lots of interesting answers from authors from Pamela Sargent to N. K. Jemisin. … Continue reading

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Rachel Swirsky’s Recommended Reading: 2011

Since it’s award season, I’ve been busily reading science fiction and fantasy published in 2011 to figure out what I plan to nominate. On my own livejournal, I’ve made extensive posts about the work I’m nominating in each category, along … Continue reading

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Women Writers Are Underrepresented In Literary Magazines

Vida published pie graphs showing the state of women in literary magazines in 2010 — how many of the writers they publish are female, how many of the books reviewed are by female authors, and so forth. The charts don’t … Continue reading

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Persian Poetry Tuesday: Poetry and Moral Authority, “If The King Sleeps Well,” from Saadi’s Bustan

One of the things that consistently moved me when I was working on my translations of Saadi was the way in which he felt authorized as a poet to speak in a voice of moral instruction to those in power. … Continue reading

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Check Out My Interview on Blog Talk Radio

Typing with one hand is hard, but I don’t want to wait too long to post this. Last night, Vangile Makwakwa of Speak2BFree interviewed me on her Blog Talk Radio show. It was an interesting conversation. Please check it out.

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Persian Poetry Tuesday: Ghazal 10 from "The Green Sea of Heaven," Translations of Hafez

Khwaja Shams ud-Din Muhammad Hafez-i Shiraza, the acknowledged master of the ghazal form in the Persian canon, was born sometime between 1317 and 1325. He died in 1389. His poems are among the most popular in the Persian-speaking world, where … Continue reading

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Persian Poetry Tuesday: Partow Nuriala's "I Am Human"

Shortly after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Partow Nuriala was forced by the government to stop teaching philosophy at Tehran University, where she also worked as a social worker. She subsequently founded Damavand Publications, one of the first independent woman-run … Continue reading

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