Poetry Rising Out of Iran

Poetry has for centuries been an essential element in Persian public culture, and poems are flying out to the rest of the world from the present-day uproar in Iran.

from Weekend Edition, National Public Radio:
“Poetry From Iran, One Tweet at a Time,” by Davar Iran Ardalan
“Persians are known for their poetry. So it is not surprising that as recent dramatic events have unfolded in Iran, so many Iranians who have been alerting the world have written poetically — even in their tweets.” The story is accompanied by a selection of tweets from Iranian engineering student and Web developer Parham Baghestani, translated by NPR staff.

from The Two-Way, National Public Radio’s news blog:
“Poet Simin Behbahani: Neda Is ‘Voice Of The People Of Iran’,” by Mark Memmott
“Simin Behbahani, a poet known as the lioness of Iran and for championing women’s rights, has a message for the men and women of her nation: ‘Don’t give up the fight for freedom.’” In a phone interview with NPR from Tehran, Behbahani recites two poems she has recently written about current events in Iran, “Stop Throwing My Country To The Wind,” addressed to her country’s government, and “For Neda Agha-Soltan,” addressed to the young woman who was killed during the protests on June 20 after the Iranian election. English translations of both poems are included in the NPR posting.

More about Persian poetry:
“Poetry connecting civilizations in conflict” (Coleman Barks, Rumi & Iran, 2006)
Ghazals