ArteNews, the online magazine published by ArteEast, has just launched a special issue on Persian/Iranian literature, guest-edited by Richard Jeffrey Newman, PAF’s Literary Arts Director. Gathered together under the title “The Revolution Is What Made This Issue Possible”, the poems, stories and essays in this issue include works written both inside and outside of Iran, from the 10th through the 21st centuries. You will find a new story by Nahid Rachlin; a translation of a story written by Mohsen Makhmalbaf before he became known as a director; new translations of three of Rumi’s ghazals, of a selection from Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh and of poetry by Forough Farrokhzad, and Mina Assadi; there’s also a new poem by award-winning poet Katayoon Zandvakili. Two essays, here and here, take on the relevance of classical Persian literature in today’s world, suggesting ways that it ought to be taught in a general education classroom and in which it might be seen as providing an important alternative to the dominance of Greek epic as a literary model in the West. And there is more. What this issue of ArteNews shows, if nothing else, is that Iranian literature is alive and vibrant and being written in many places throughout the world other than Iran. As Richard wrote in his introduction:

Whether you call the literature Iranian or Persian, it deserves and should command your attention, not only because the current political situation between the US and its allies and Iran makes it imperative that people throughout the world (though perhaps especially in the US) understand Iran and Iranians as much as possible, but because it is a worthy literature in its own right, confronting in important and complex ways, from at least the 10th century onward, the questions of identity and meaning that we all wrestle with, no matter what language we speak, where we live now or where we were born.

Go now. Read. Enjoy. And if you want to let us know what you think, email Richard at richard@persianartsfestival.org.