For many Iranians, the words of Ahmad Shamlou capture the power words have in speaking to people and reflecting our shared pain and joy. As one of the most influential and well-known poets of modern Iran, Shamlou carried on the tradition of prose and poetry that remains central to Iranian culture and history. Art, films, and literature flourish in Iran, despite the limitations and restrictions writers and artists navigate in the quest to express themselves. A love of art and literature extends to all of us in the Iranian diaspora — and allows us to hold fast to the Iranian identities we so cherish.
August 9th marks National Book Lover’s Day, and all across the United States, bibliophiles celebrate the reading and literature that has defined our lives. To celebrate our community’s own amazing authors, NIAC is dedicating the month of August to highlighting the incredible work of just some of the Iranian-American authors who have colored much of our own experiences.
These exceptional writers have seized their freedom to express themselves and explore our shared human struggles — while often also navigating the added challenge endemic to all diasporas of finding their voice in a place that is simultaneously both foreign and home.
Every week for the remainder of the month, NIAC will share profiles of and interviews with various authors, who kindly took the time to offer their perspectives on the experiences that informed their work.
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