Strange Times, My Dear

by Nahid Mozaffari

  Dowlatabadi, Mahmud: “The Mirror” (Ayeneh) from Haft Mard, Haft Dastan (Seven Men, Seven Stories) compiled by Mozhgan Garm-siri. Tehran: Rahiyan-e Andisheh Publishers, 1998, © 1998 by Mahmud Dowlatabadi. Translated and reprinted by permission of the author.

  Farrokhfal, Reza: “Ah, Istanbul” from the short story collection Ah, Istanbul by Reza Farrokhfal. Tehran: Esparak Publishing, 1988, © 1988 by Reza Farrokhfal. Translated and reprinted by permission of the author.

  Fassih, Esmail: “Sorraya in a Coma” from Sorraya dar Eqma (Sorraya in a Coma) by Esmail Fassih. Tehran: Alborz Publishers, 1984, © 1984. First published in English by Zed Books, Ltd., London, 1985. Reprinted by permission of author/translator and Zed Books, Ltd.

  Golshiri, Hushang: “The Victory Chronicle of the Magi” (Fathnameh-ye Moghan) from Kargahe-Qesseh 1 (November-December 1980), 1-6. The English translation by M. R. Ghanoonparvar first appeared in Iranian Studies 30, nos. 3-4 (Summer/Fall 1997), 225-42. Revised translation reprinted by permission of Farzaneh Taheri, The Golshiri Foundation, M. R. Ghanoonparvar and Iranian Studies.

  Mahmud, Ahmad: “Scorched Earth,” from chapter 1 of Zamine-Sukhteh (Scorched Earth) by Ahmad Mahmud. Tehran: Moin Publishers, 1984, © 1361 [1984] by Ahmad Mahmud. Translated and reprinted by permission of Moin Publishers.

  Khaksar, Nassim: “The Grocer of Kharzeville” from the short story collection Baghal-e Kharzeville (The Grocer of Kharzeville) by Nassim Khaksar. Utrecht: Nawid Publishers, 1988, © 1988 by Nassim Khaksar. Translated and reprinted by permission of the author.

  Kheradmand, Farideh: “Peace of Night” (Aramesh-e Shabaneh) from the short story collection Aramesh-e Shabaneh (Peace of Night) by Farideh Kheradmand. Tehran: Negah-e Sabz Publishing, 2000, © 1378 [2000] by Farideh Kheradmand. Translated and reprinted by permission of the author.

  Khorsandi, Hadi: “The Eyes Won’t Take it” (Chashmha . . .) from Asghar Agha 18 (1996). English translation published by permission of Hadi Khorsandi and the translator, Lotfali Khonji.

  Mandanipur, Shahriyar: “Shatter the Stone Tooth” (Beshkan Dandan-e Sangi ra) from Mumiya va Assal (The Mummy and Honey) by Shariyar Mandanipur. Tehran: Nilufar Publishing, 1996, © 1996 by Shahriyar Mandanipur. Translated and reprinted by permission of the author.

  Modarressi, Taghi: “The Book of Absent People,” from chapters 1 and 2 of Adamya-ye Ghayeb (Absent People) by Taghi Modarressi. First English-language edition, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1986, © 1986 by Taghi Modarressi. Reprinted by permission of Anne Tyler and Russell and Volkening, Inc.

  Nabavi, Seyyed Ebrahim: “First Love” from Tehrangeles by Seyyed Ebrahim Nabavi. Tehran: Rowzaneh Publishing, 2001, © 2001 by Seyyed Ebrahim Nabavi. Translated and reprinted by permission of the author.

  Parsipur, Shahrnush: “Women Without Men,” excerpt from Zanan Bedun-e Mardan (Women Without Men) by Shahrnush Parsipur. Tehran: Nashr-e Noghreh, 1989, © 1367 [1989] by Shahrnush Parsipur. First English-language edition published in 1998 by Syracuse University Press. This excerpt from The Feminist Press edition (New York: 2004). Reprinted by permission of The Feminist Press at CUNY and the author.

  Pezeshkzad, Iraj: “Delayed Consequences of the Revolution” (Avarez-e Deer-ras-e Enghelab) from the short story collection Rostam Sola-tan (The Pretenders of Rostam). Los Angeles: Nashr-e Ketab, 2000, © 2000 by Iraj Pezeshkzad. Translated and reprinted by permission of the author.

  Rabihavi, Ghazi: “White Rock” (Sang-e Sefid), first published in English in Index on Censorship 2 (1995), 127-32. Reprinted by permission of author and Index on Censorship.

  Ravanipur, Moniru: “Satan’s Stones” from the short story collection Sangha-ye Shaytan (Satan’s Stones) by Moniru Ravanipur. Tehran: Nashr-e Markaz Publishing, 1991, © 1369 [1991] by Moniru Ravanipur. First published in English and translated by Persis Karim, Atoosa Kourosh, Paricher Moin, Dylan Oehler-Stricklin, Reza Shirazi, and Catherine Williamson in Satan’s Stones by Moniru Ravanipur, edited with an introduction by M. R. Ghanoonparvar. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996, © 1996 by University of Texas Press. Reprinted by permission of M. R. Ghanoonparvar and University of Texas Press.

  Taraghi, Goli: “In Another Place” from Jay-i Degar (Another Place) by Goli Taraghi. Tehran: Nilufar Publishing, 2000, © 1379 [2000] by Goli Taraghi. Translated and reprinted by permission of the author.

  POETRY

  Akhavan Saless, Mehdi: “I Love You, Ancient Homeland” (To ra ay ko-han bum-o bar dust daram) first appeared in English in Iranian Studies 30, nos. 3-4 (Summer/Fall 1997), 244-47. Reprinted by permission of Iranian Studies.

  Asgari, Mirza Agha: “Amorous” (Asheghaneh), translated by Sholeh Wolpé. Published by permission of Mirza Agha Asgari.

  Asadi, Mina: “Wednesday in March” (Chaharshanbeh-i dar esfand), first appeared in English in Parnassus: Poetry in Review 25, nos. 1-2 (2001), 228. Reprinted by permission of Mina Asadi and Poetry Review Foundation. “Wakeful Reveries” (Roya-ye bidari), translated by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak. Published by permission of Mina Asadi.

  Atashi, Manuchehr: “A Woman Out of Memory” (Zani az hafezeh) and “Visitations” (Didar), translated by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak. Published by permission of Manuchehr Atashi.

  Baraheni, Reza: “In the New Place, or Exile, a Simple Matter,” from Seneca Review 34, no. 1 (Spring 2004), 16-20. Reprinted by permission of Reza Baraheni and Seneca Review.

  Behbahani, Simin: “A Man with a Missing Leg” (Mardi ke yek pa nadarad); “I Write, I Cross Out” (Minevisam va khat mizanam); “If the Snake is Domestic” (Mar agar mar-e khanegist); “And Behold” (Va negah kon), and “It’s Time to Mow the Flowers” (Vaght-e derow Kardan-e gol shod) first appeared in English in A Cup of Sin: Selected Poems by Simin Behbahani, edited and translated by Farzaneh Milani and Kaveh Safa (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1999), © 1999 by Syracuse University Press. Reprinted by permission of the poet, the translators, and Syracuse University Press.

  Hakakian, Roya: “I Must Bury Him” (Bayad u-ra dafn konam), translated by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak. Published by permission of Roya Hakakian.

  Karbasi, Ziba: “The Republic of Hate” (Johuri-ye tars), translated by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak, first appeared in English in Parnassus: Poetry in Review 25, nos. 1- 2 (2001), 229. Reprinted by permission of Ziba Karbasi and Poetry Review Foundation.

  Kiarostami, Abbas: “Selections from Walking with the Wind” (Ham- rah ba bad), translated by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak and Michael Beard, first appeared in English in Walking with the Wind: Poems by Abbas Kiarostami (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Film Archive Publication, 2001). Reprinted by permission of Abbas Kiarostami and Harvard Film Archive.

  Khoi, Esmail: “Lyrical” (Ghazalvareh); “An Allusion” (Kenayehvari); and “Bad Boy” (Bache-ye bad) first appeared in English in Edges of Poetry: Selected Poems of Esmail Khoi, translated by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak and Michael Beard (Santa Monica: Blue Logos Press, 1995), © 1995 by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak and Michael Beard. Reprinted by permission of Blue Logos Press. “Outlandia” (Bidarkoja) first appeared in English in Outlandia: Songs of Exile by Esmail Khoi, selected and translated by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak and Michael Beard (Vancouver: Nik Publishers, 1999), © 1999 by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak and Michael Beard. Reprinted by permission of Nik Publishers and translators.

  Langerudi, Shams: “Requiem” (Marsieh), translated by Lotfali Khonji, first appeared in English in Index on Censorship, no. 5 (1997), 39. Reprinted by permission of Shams Langerudi and Index on Censorship. “Brands” (Dagh), translated by Sholeh Wolpé, published by permission of Shams Langerudi.

  Mokhtari, Mohammad: “From the Other Half” (Az an nimeh), translated by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak, first appeared in English in Iranian Studies 30, nos. 3-4 (Summer/Fall 1997), 363-65. Reprinted by permission of Iranian Studies.

  Mussavi, Granaz: “The Ax” (Tabar), translated by Sheida Dayani, published by permission of Granaz Mussavi. “Afghan Woman” (Zan-e Afghan) and “The Sale” (Haraj), translated by Sholeh Wolpé, published by permission of Granaz Mussavi.

  Naderpu
r, Nader: “A Spring Tale” (Ghesseh-ye bahari), English translation by William L. Hanaway, from Iranian Studies 30, nos. 3 — 4 (Summer/Fall 1997), 303-5. Reprinted by permission of the poet, the translator, and Iranian Studies.

  Naficy, Majid: “The Little Messenger” (Payambar-e kuchak), translated by Ardavan Davaran, first appeared in English in Literary Review 40, no. 1 (Fall 1996), 201-2. Reprinted by permission of Majid Naficy and Literary Review.

  Nuriala, Partow: “I Am Human” (Man ensanam), translated by Zara Hushmand, first appeared in English in Literary Review 40, no. 1 (Fall 1996), 191-93. Reprinted by permission of Partow Nuriala and Literary Review.

  Royai, Yadollah: “Martyr’s Tombstone” (Sang-e Shahid); “Labial Verse 67” (Labrikhteh-ha 67); and “Labial Verse 181” (Labrikhteh-ha 181), translated by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak. “Tomb of Manichaeus” (Sang-e mani), translated by Haleh Hatami. Published by permission of Yadollah Royai.

  Saffari, Abbas: “Saturday Night Dinner” (Sham’e shanbeh shab), first published in English in Circumference 2 (Summer/Autumn 2004), 40-42. Reprinted by permission of Abbas Saffari, Nilufar Talebi, and Circumference. “A Bird is a Bird” (Parandeh, parandeh ast), translated by Nilufar Talebi, first appeared in English online, www.thetranslationproject.com. Reprinted by permission of Abbas Saffari and Nilufar Talebi.

  Sepanlu, Mohammad Ali: “Miniature” (Miniatur); “The Terrace of Dead Fishermen” (Café-ye mahigiran-e mordeh); and “The Green Bull” (Gav-e sabz), translated by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak. Published by permission of M. A. Sepanlu.

  Shafi’i Kadkani, M. R: “Poetry I” (She’r I); “Poetry II” (She’r II); and “Prayer of Sudden Dread” (Namaz-e khowf) first published in English in Parnassus: Poetry in Review 25, nos. 1 — 2, 226 — 28, © 2001 by Poetry in Review Foundation. Translated by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak and Dick Davis. Reprinted by permission of publisher and translators.

  Shamlu, Ahmad: “In This Blind Alley” (Dar in bombast); “End of the Game” (Akhar-e bazi); and “Morning” (Sobh) first appeared in English in Iranian Studies 30, nos. 3-4 (Summer/Fall 1997). Reprinted by permission of Iranian Studies. “Love Song” (Asheghaneh), translated by Ahmad Karimi Hakkak.

  SUGGESTED READING: MODERN

  IRANIAN LITERATURE IN

  ENGLISH TRANSLATION

  PROSE

  Alavi, Bozorg. Her Eyes. Lanham, Md.: University Press of

  America/Biblioteca Persica, 1989. Amirshahi, Mahshid. Suri & Company: Tales of a Persian Teenager.

  Austin: University of Texas Press, 1995 Chubak, Sadeq. Sadeq Chubak: An Anthology. New York: Center for Iranian Studies, Columbia University, 1981.

  ———. The Patient Stone. Persian Fiction in Translation. Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda Publishers, 1989. Daneshvar, Simin. A Persian Requiem. New York: George Braziller, 1992.

  ———. Daneshvar’s Playhouse: A Collection of Stories. Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishers, 1989.

  ———. Savushun: A Novel about Modern Iran. Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishers, 1990.

  ———. Sutra and Other Stories. Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishers, 1994.

  Fassih, Esmail. Sorraya in a Coma. London: Zed Books, 1985.

  Golshiri, Hushang (Manuchehr Irani). King of the Benighted. Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishers, 1990.

  ———. Black Parrot, Green Crow: A Collection of Short Fiction. Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishers, 2003.

  Hedayat, Sadegh. The Blind Owl. New York: Evergreen, 1969.

  Khorsandi, Hadi. The Ayatollah and I. Columbia, La.: Readers International, 1987.

  Miraftabi, Morteza. Mystical Realities: Iranian Short Stories. Bakersfield, Cal.: Favor Publishing, 1993.

  Mirzadegi, Shokuh, The Stranger Within Me. Bethesda, Md.: Ibex Publishers, 2002.

  Modaress-Sadeghi, Jafar. The Marsh. Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda Publishers, 1996.

  Parsipur, Shahrnush. Women Without Men: A Novella. Syracuse, N.Y: Syracuse University Press, 1998; Feminist Press, 2003.

  Pezeshkzad, Iraj. My Uncle Napoleon. Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishers, 2000.

  Ravanipur, Moniru. Kanizu. Persian Fiction in Translation, Series no. 5. Costa Mesa, Cal.: Biblioteca Iranica, 2004.

  ———. Satan’s Stones. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996.

  Sa’edi, Gholamhoseyn. Dandil: Stories from Iranian Life. New York: Random House, 1981.

  ———. Fear and Trembling. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents Press, 1984.

  ———. Othello in Wonderland and Mirror Polishing Storytellers / Two Plays by Gholamhoseyn Sa’edi. Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda Publishers, 1996.

  Sayyad, Parviz. Parviz Sayyad’s Theatre of Diaspora: Two Plays — The Ass and the Rex Cinema Trial. Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda Publishers, 1993.

  Taraghi, Goli, A Mansion in the Sky and Other Short Stories. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003.

  ———. Winter Sleep. Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda Publishers, 1994.

  POETRY

  Baraheni, Reza. God’s Shadow: Prison Poems. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1976.

  Behbahani, Simin, Cup of Sin: Selected Poems. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1999.

  ———. Wounded Rose: Three Iranian Poets. Columbia, La.: Readers International, 1980.

  E’tesami, Parvin. A Nightingales Lament: Selections from the Poems and Fables of Parvin E’tesami. Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda Publishers, 1994.

  Farrokhzad, Forough. Another Birth: Selected Poems. Emeryville, Cal.: Albany Press, 1981.

  ———. Bride of Acacias: Selected Poems. Delmar, N.Y.: Caravan Books, 1982.

  ———. Remembering the Flight: Twenty Poems. Vancouver: Nik Publishers, 1997.

  ———. A Rebirth: Poems. Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda Publishers, 1985.

  Kianush, Mahmud. Poems from a Persian Divan. Ware, U.K.: Rockingham Press, 1994.

  Kiarostami, Abbas. Walking with the Wind: Poems by Abbas Kiarostami. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Film Archive Publications, 2001.

  Khoi, Esmail. Edges of Poetry: Selected Poems. Santa Monica, Cal.: Blue Lagos Press, 1995.

  ———. Outlandia: Songs of Exile. Vancouver: Nik Publishers, 1999.

  Naderpur, Nader. False Dawn: Persian Poems 1951 — 1984. Literature East & West Series. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1986.

  Naficy, Majid. Muddy Shoes: Poems. Venice, Cal.: Beyond Baroque Books, 1999.

  Saffarzadeh, Tahereh. Tahereh Saffarzadeh: Selected Poems, a Bilingual Edition. Shiraz, Iran: Navid Publishing House, 1987.

  Sepehri, Sohrab. The Expanse of Green: Poems. Los Angeles: Kalimat Press/UNESCO, Persian Series, 1988.

  ———. The Lover is Always Alone: Selected Poems. Tehran: Sokhan Publishers, 2004.

  Shamlu, Ahmad. Love Poems. Bethesda, Md.: Ibex Publishers.

  Vajdi, Shadab. Closed Circuit: The Poetry of Shadab Vajdi. London: Forest Books, 1989.

  ANTHOLOGIES

  Ghanoonparvar, M. R., and John Green, eds. Iranian Drama: An Anthology. Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda Publishers, 1989.

  Husain, Syed Akhtar, ed. Tales from Iran: A Collection of Short Stories. New Delhi: Syed Akhtar Husain, 1990.

  Kapuscinski, Gisele, ed. Modern Persian Drama: An Anthology/Bahram Beyzd’I, Gowhar Morad, Abbas Na’lbandian. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America/Biblioteca Persica, 1987.

  Karimi Hakkak, Ahmad, ed. An Anthology of Modern Persian Poetry. Boulder, Col.: Westview Press, 1978.

  Kianush, Mahmud, ed. Modern Persian Poetry. Ware, U.K.: Rockingham Press, 1996.

  Moayyad, Heshmat, ed. Stories from Iran: A Chicago Anthology, 1921-1991. Washington, D.C.: Mage Publishers, 1992.

  Paknazar Sullivan, Soraya, ed. Stories by Iranian Women Since the Revolution. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1991. Shoshani, Shmuel, and Shmuri Shoshani, eds. The Persian Nightingale in a Cage: Selected Persian Diaspora Poetry, Post-Islamic Revolution.

  Chapel Hill, N.C.: Professional Press, 1997. Southgate, Minoo, ed. Modern Persian Short Stories. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents Press, 1980.

  Vatanabadi, Sho
uleh, and Mohammad Mehdi Khorrami, eds. A Feast in the Mirror: Stories by Contemporary Iranian Women. Boulder, Col.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000.

  ———. Another Sea, Another Shore: Persian Stories of Migration. Northampton, Mass.: Interlink Books, 2004.

  Yarshater, Ehsan, ed. Hedayat: An Anthology. Delmar, N.Y.: Caravan Books (Modern Persian Literature, series no. 2), 1979.

  Yazdanfar, Farzin, and John Green, eds. A Walnut Sapling on Masih’s Grave and Other Stories by Iranian Women. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 1993.

  Yazdanfar, Farzin and Franklin Lewis, eds. In a Voice of Their Own: A Collection of Stories Written by Iranian Women Since the Revolution in 1979. Costa Mesa, Cal.: Mazda Publishers, 1996.