LÆSENOTER: Iranian Literature

Iran’s History – Background to Today’s Events

If you want to gain a deeper understanding of the historical background behind current events, we recommend Iran’s Modern History by Rasmus Chr. Elling (Gyldendal). The book was described by Kristeligt Dagblad as “essential non‑fiction for our time.” Although it was published a few years ago, it remains highly relevant — historical reading very much of the moment.

Khayyam and Hafez: Persian Masterpieces

If you wish to explore the roots of Iranian literature and Persian poetry, we recommend 33 Poems by Omar Khayyam, translated by Peter Laugesen and Rasmus Chr. Elling (Bangsbohave). Politiken praised the poems as “masterful” and “world‑class.”
World‑class is certainly a fitting description for Hafez as well — another great master of Persian literature. A selection of his poems is available in translation by Morten Søndergaard, Hamid Tadayoni and Shëkufe Tadayoni Heiberg under the title Hafez: From Wine House to Paradise (Bangsbohave).

Cult Classics and Modern Narratives

If you’re interested in more recent Iranian classics, we recommend the novel The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat (OVO Press), translated by the poet Shadi Angelina Bazeghi. The novel, in which a young man unravels his madness‑like obsession with a young woman, was published in 1937 and is considered one of the most influential works of modern Iranian literature.

Shadi Angelina Bazeghi has also masterfully translated the work of one of the 20th century’s most important innovators of Persian poetry and one of its most widely read poets, Forugh Farrokhzad. A selection of her poems is collected in the magnificent volume Only the Voice Remains (Gyldendal), which also includes an essay by Mette Moestrup on Farrokhzad’s work and life — a life that ended tragically early in 1967, when Farrokhzad was just 32 years old.

A somewhat more recent classic that has gained cult status in recent years is Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur (Gyldendal), superbly translated by Nazila Ghavami Kivi. We should be completely honest here: we love this book. Rarely have the fates, lives, dreams and hopes of five women been portrayed with such beauty. The novel was originally published in 1989, but this year it has been nominated for the prestigious International Booker Prize — alongside Olga Ravn’s The Employees.

If you’d like to explore contemporary Iranian literature, we recommend Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (Cobolt), translated into Danish by Julie Paludan‑Müller. Satrapi’s graphic novel has been adapted into an award‑winning film and enjoyed worldwide success. One of the book’s great strengths is its humour and clarity, particularly in the first volume’s portrayal of the author’s childhood during a turbulent period in Iran’s history — marked by the fall of the Shah, the Islamic Revolution and the Iran‑Iraq War.

The second volume continues the story, following 15‑year‑old Marjane as she begins at a French lycée in Vienna and truly starts to feel what it means to live in exile. Taken together, the two volumes can rightfully be called a modern classic.

Also available in Danish are two short‑story collections by Zoyâ Pirzâd: The Bitter Taste of Dates (translated by Mahnaz N. Firouzabadi & Sol Khorshid Woloszynski Tadayoni) and Like Every Other Afternoon (translated by Shahin Aakjær) (Rebel With a Cause). In both collections, Pirzâd emerges as a storyteller with a unique eye for detail and an ability to capture an entire life through few words, simple sentences and precisely observed scenes — a life many will recognise, yet also distinctly life as it unfolds in modern Iran.

From Page to Screen: Film Recommendation

If you need a break from reading, you can — for a little while longer — catch It Was Just an Accident, the Palme d’Or‑winning film by Jafar Panahi. The film has also received an enthusiastic reception in Danish media, and you can read Filmmagasinet Ekko’s review for free.