Category Archives: Iran

“The Duality of Life in Iran” – from Tehran Bureau

In The Duality of Life in Iran, Tehran Bureau’s Correspondent at Large writes the following: Life in Iran is split in halves: the half lived in the open and the half lived behind closed doors. And this duality goes deep: … Continue reading

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The Teller of Tales is Reviewed by Aria Fani on Tehran Bureau

Aria Fani has published on Tehran Bureau a review of my book, The Teller of Tales, which is a translation of the first five stories of Shahnameh, The Book of Kings, also known as the Persian (or Iranian) national epic. … Continue reading

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I am a Translator of Classical Iranian Poetry. Or Maybe I’m Not.

So I found out yesterday that I was not elected secretary of my union. I ran not because I was eager to get into union work per se, but because there is serious work that needs to be done on … Continue reading

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Avant-Garde Theater in Iran – Art as Politics, The Politics of Art

To say that art is always political, even when it is not obviously politically engaged, is a truism often used by artists who don’t want to do the difficult work of figuring out, or owning up to, the (usually conservative, … Continue reading

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Norouz Pirouz! Eid Moborak! Happy Iranian New Year 2011 – An Auspicious Day to Announce My New Book, “The Teller of Tales: Stories from Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh”

I was, actually, hoping to post this yesterday, before the changing of the year, which happened some time between 6 and 7 PM, but I was very busy and didn’t get a chance to do it. So let me take … Continue reading

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Persian Poetry Tuesday: The Prologue to the Story of Rostam and Sohrab in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh

Written in the 10th century by Abolqasem Ferdowsi (NPR did a feature on him not too long ago), the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) is the national epic of Iran, telling the nation’s story by recounting the tales of its kings, … Continue reading

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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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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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