Poets, artists, and activists share and reflect on centuries of poetry from women across Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and India.
Featuring:
Arooj Aftab, musician
Shohreh Aghdashloo, Oscar-nominated actress, House of Sand and Fog
Dick Davis, translator, The Mirror of My Heart: A Thousand Years of Persian Poetry by Women
Roya Hakakian, author, A Beginner's Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious
Dina Nayeri, author, The Ungrateful Refugee
Sholeh Wolpé, poet, playwright, literary translator, The Conference of the Birds
Shahzia Sikander, artist
Wazina Zondon, co-founder, Coming Out Muslim: Radical Acts of Love
and more, reading and contextualizing the words of Persian language women poets
Whether mocking impotent husbands, calling out for emancipation, speaking to one's heart, or leveling criticism at state violence, the concerns and experiences reflected in the poetry collection, The Mirror of My Heart, are as diverse as the lives of the women who expressed them. The new collection, translated by Dick Davis, spans from the Middle Ages to contemporary times and from Iran all the way to Uzbekistan.
Contemporary women artists and writers celebrate the collection through readings, music, and a discussion about carrying forward this terrific lineage of poetic thinking.
This event is produced in partnership with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.