You might not think polo — like polo with the horses and the sticks — is the most natural possible metaphor for love. According to Persian tradition, you would definitely be wrong.
Two Mystical Persian Lyrics: ‘Aṭṭār and Paradox
‘Attar – Divan 76 Whichever way shall I go? To the wine-tavern or the mosque? Both are off-limits to poor me. They don’t let me into the mosque, saying, “He’s a knave,” Nor in the tavern, saying, “He’s too green.” Between the mosque and the tavern, there is a path. Find out, O dear ones, … Continue reading
Silence and Speech: Rumi’s Call to the Other World
‘Be quiet!’ Rumi orders himself on numerous occasions. But he never can quite seem to listen. In the following poem, through a series of commands and rhetorical questions, Rumi (Molānā) implores his listener not to grieve over his death, and, by analogy, not to dread the reader’s own death. He recasts the grief of death … Continue reading
Minimalist Iranian Writing: Rasool Yoonan
Walking in the Sky “There’s no way back.” “What do you mean?” “Don’t you see everything’s covered in fog?” “Well, I’m going back.”
Tehran, 2006
Everyone has experienced Blue Car Syndrome before in some form or another. You buy a blue car, now you can’t stop seeing them. I’ve taken that one step farther and described what I call ‘Linguistic Blue Car Syndrome,’ where, as a language learner, you learn a word or phrase, and suddenly can’t stop hearing … Continue reading
‘Attar, Reprobate of His Age
Why would Farid al-Din ‘Attar, one of the most pious and moralistic Persian poets, call himself essentially the biggest scalawag of them all? The answer lies in the themes explored in the sonnet I’ve translated here for you. ‘Attar, Rumi, and other followers of the Sufi or Islamic Mystic tradition were really concerned with what … Continue reading
Writing as Healing: Goli Taraghi and her “First Day”
“The desire to write gnaws at me on the inside. Words won’t leave me alone. They come after me in dreams, like an army of ants, crawling on my lips and eyelids.”
Verses Collected on the Occasion of the Vernal Equinox
Do you like my Victorian-esque title? I thought it would bring some mock-stateliness to what is otherwise a very simple post. All that to say, Happy Persian New Year! Enjoy these spring-themed verses I have collected and translated from some of my favorite classical Persian poets.
On the Ill-Advised Love Affairs of Persian Kings
In Persian literature, the king is always falling in love with the wrong people. The objects of his affection have a wide range of responses. Sometimes they return his love, sometimes they are flattered by his attentions. But more often, it seems, they reject him, scorn him, reprimand him, or are in it for something … Continue reading
Simin Behbahani, Poetess and Activist, Passes Away at 87
The world of Iranian literature lost a major player yesterday with the death of Simin Behbahani, a lifelong poet and human rights activist.
Persian is Sugar 