A Powerful Tribute to Iranian Women

Photo Submitted

“Let Me Tell You Where I’ve Been: New Writing by Women of the Iranian Diaspora”

    FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- “Let Me Tell You Where I’ve Been: New Writing by Women of the Iranian Diaspora,” edited by Persis Karim and published by the University of Arkansas Press (Paper $24.95) is the first anthology of writing by women of the Iranian diaspora. Featuring more than 100 selections - two-thirds of which have never been published before - from more than 50 contributors this collection represents a substantial cross section of this unique multicultural community.

      Until recently, Iranian literature has overwhelmingly been the domain of men. But in the 27 years since the Iranian revolution, women both in Iran and in the diaspora have written and published in unprecedented numbers and have created a uniquely feminine literary voice. Unlike the tired, familiar images of Iran in the media, the poetry, fiction and nonfiction included from these women challenge both the patriarchal literary tradition of Iran and the singular portrayals in the West of Iranian women as veiled, silent and lacking in agency.

     Organized around six general themes, including home and away, family and tradition, gender, politics, love, and silence, the pieces create a rich conversation about Iran, Iranian culture, the Persian and English languages, and the dual identities of its authors. Azar Nafisi, author of the best-selling “Reading Lolita in Tehran” says: “We have to thank Persis Karim for this wonderful book and for these powerful selections; they offer an alternative to the currently politicized and one-sided view of Iran and Iranian culture.” And noted poet Naomi Shihab Nye asks: “Might this be the perfect moment for bridges of language and sensibility - delicious humanity - to define and connect us? Cast aside the grim proclamations of power and threat! Gratitude to Persis Karim for this healing tonic of pomegranate wisdom and pleasure.”

      Persis Karim is an associate professor of English and comparative literature at San Jose State University in California. She will be on an extensive reading tour for the book throughout the summer and fall, reading along with many of the contributors at bookstores and libraries throughout California, Chicago, Minneapolis, New York City, Washington, D.C., Montreal, and London, England. The book includes a “Foreword” by Al Young, poet laureate of California.