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Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians Around the World
“Niloufar Talebi’s accomplishment in gathering the poetry of the Iranian diaspora is unprecedented and breathtaking. It is as if she has, by force of commitment and vision, and by way of cultural hunger, bequeathed a new literary heritage to Iran and the world. Here is a lyric symphony of utterance in the voices of exiles, immigrants, refugees, and expatriates. That Talebi assembled such an extraordinary collection is impressive enough—that she translated most of these poems herself is nothing short of remarkable.”
—Carolyn Forché, editor of Against Forgetting: Twentieth Century Poetry of Witness
—Carolyn Forché, editor of Against Forgetting: Twentieth Century Poetry of Witness
- GenresPoetry
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 5, 2008
1 person is currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
Niloufar Talebi
5 books16 followersNiloufar Talebi is an author, award-winning translator, and multidisciplinary creator. Her books include the anthology Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians Around the World (North Atlantic Books, 2008), Self-Portrait in Bloom memoir (l'Aleph, 2019), and Elegies of the Earth: Selected Poems by Ahmad Shamlou (World Poetry Books, 2025). Her performance projects include Abraham in Flames opera, ICARUS/RISE, The Persian Rite of Spring, Fire Angels, and Epiphany. Her distinctions include a Fulbright U.S. Scholar fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts award, and artist residencies at Art Omi and the Kennedy Center. She teaches Creative Writing and Creativity at Stanford Continuing Studies, and is the founder of Creative Intelligence. www.niloufartalebi.com
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 20, 2019
If we have a destiny, it is our loneliness.
—Nader Naderpour
*
I clasp my arms around myself
Close my eyelids
And cast myself into the night
Like a lone rock.
[…]
But the world is round
And the heavy loneliness of this night
Sits only on my soul.
—Majid Naficy
*
I am overcome
with the strangest anxiety as if I've left
myself somewhere
in the world.
—Shahrouz Rashid
—Nader Naderpour
*
I clasp my arms around myself
Close my eyelids
And cast myself into the night
Like a lone rock.
[…]
But the world is round
And the heavy loneliness of this night
Sits only on my soul.
—Majid Naficy
*
I am overcome
with the strangest anxiety as if I've left
myself somewhere
in the world.
—Shahrouz Rashid
May 10, 2019
7. A book written in the Middle East: Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians Around the World edited and translated by Niloufar Talebi
List Progress: 12/30
This collection was a random grab at my local library, but I am quite happy to say that it played out well for me. A poetry anthology with an enticing premise, Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians Around the World is a collection of poems by Iranians who no longer live in Iran. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 has influenced all of these poets, from the ones who were adults and politically active in 1979, to those who were infants at the time and grew up in the aftermath. Each poem has its own merits, but more than the individual pieces, editor and translator Niloufar Talebi does a skillful job painting a portrait of diaspora artists and art.
Talebi has collected poetry from around the world, largely in the New Poetry genre of Persian writing (which I have no outside knowledge of). The poets are arranged roughly chronologically based on when they started publishing, though many have careers that span decades. Each poet is introduced by a page of biographical background and some poem analysis, which was very helpful for me as an American reader with very little knowledge of the cultural landscape of the Iranian revolution. Being able to get an insight into the symbolism, context and references for each piece was incredibly useful and a good tool for the book to not just translate the words, but the meanings of each piece.
Liking poetry in particular is a lot about personal taste, and my tastes tend towards the more structured and clear poems, no matter what background they come from. I ended up bookmarking each piece I really enjoyed, so special shout-out to the following poets whose work I found very moving:
Mina Assadi, particularly her poem “Waking Dreams 6”
Esma’il Kho’i, especially “Image of Kindness”
All of the work by Partow Nooriala
Majid Naficy
Reza Farmand’s “My Mother Did Not Become Beautiful” is one of the best feminist pieces of writing by a male writer I’ve ever seen
Saghi Ghahraman’s poems are hauntingly beautiful and painful
Naanaam’s poems are fascinatingly modern and casual
Mana Aghaee, especially her poem “My Death”
The more experimental and impressionistic poetry does not appeal to me nearly as much, but I can understand that that kind of writing speaks to a lot of people differently, especially in its native language. I did appreciate that each poem was pasted in parallel in both Persian and English, a lovely symbolic as well as practical aspect of cross-cultural art. Talebi has done a wonderful job collecting, translating and synthesizing these pieces and I would be thrilled to see them shared with a larger audience.
Would I Recommend It: Yes
List Progress: 12/30
This collection was a random grab at my local library, but I am quite happy to say that it played out well for me. A poetry anthology with an enticing premise, Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians Around the World is a collection of poems by Iranians who no longer live in Iran. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 has influenced all of these poets, from the ones who were adults and politically active in 1979, to those who were infants at the time and grew up in the aftermath. Each poem has its own merits, but more than the individual pieces, editor and translator Niloufar Talebi does a skillful job painting a portrait of diaspora artists and art.
Talebi has collected poetry from around the world, largely in the New Poetry genre of Persian writing (which I have no outside knowledge of). The poets are arranged roughly chronologically based on when they started publishing, though many have careers that span decades. Each poet is introduced by a page of biographical background and some poem analysis, which was very helpful for me as an American reader with very little knowledge of the cultural landscape of the Iranian revolution. Being able to get an insight into the symbolism, context and references for each piece was incredibly useful and a good tool for the book to not just translate the words, but the meanings of each piece.
Liking poetry in particular is a lot about personal taste, and my tastes tend towards the more structured and clear poems, no matter what background they come from. I ended up bookmarking each piece I really enjoyed, so special shout-out to the following poets whose work I found very moving:
Mina Assadi, particularly her poem “Waking Dreams 6”
Esma’il Kho’i, especially “Image of Kindness”
All of the work by Partow Nooriala
Majid Naficy
Reza Farmand’s “My Mother Did Not Become Beautiful” is one of the best feminist pieces of writing by a male writer I’ve ever seen
Saghi Ghahraman’s poems are hauntingly beautiful and painful
Naanaam’s poems are fascinatingly modern and casual
Mana Aghaee, especially her poem “My Death”
The more experimental and impressionistic poetry does not appeal to me nearly as much, but I can understand that that kind of writing speaks to a lot of people differently, especially in its native language. I did appreciate that each poem was pasted in parallel in both Persian and English, a lovely symbolic as well as practical aspect of cross-cultural art. Talebi has done a wonderful job collecting, translating and synthesizing these pieces and I would be thrilled to see them shared with a larger audience.
Would I Recommend It: Yes
May 8, 2019
What if she had endless roads?"
-Reza Farmand
Some incredible poems and some that were misses. My favourite was the emotions and that there was the Persian and the English side by side mirroring as they write in opposite direction. One swirling in beauty and one strict in form.
"In a land of seventy thousand dead and seventy million mute"- Mana Aghaee
"In a city strewn with memories of old."-Nadur Nadurpour
"My mother did not have the chance to take flight from the abyss of dusty beliefs to the apex of the stars and letters with the wingspan of wisdom."-Reza Farmand
What if she had endless roads?"-Reza Farmand
"One, that he should never tire of going.
Two, that he should obey only his shoes."
-Mana Aghaee
-Reza Farmand
Some incredible poems and some that were misses. My favourite was the emotions and that there was the Persian and the English side by side mirroring as they write in opposite direction. One swirling in beauty and one strict in form.
"In a land of seventy thousand dead and seventy million mute"- Mana Aghaee
"In a city strewn with memories of old."-Nadur Nadurpour
"My mother did not have the chance to take flight from the abyss of dusty beliefs to the apex of the stars and letters with the wingspan of wisdom."-Reza Farmand
What if she had endless roads?"-Reza Farmand
"One, that he should never tire of going.
Two, that he should obey only his shoes."
-Mana Aghaee
July 31, 2018
This was a challenging read. Talebi's translation notes and introduction are a crucial key to even scratching the surface of understanding the depth of emotional turmoil reflected in these poems. The first half of the book was a bit easier, as many poems had themes that were easy to follow, but the latter half, with poetry challenging its very own form, was incredibly dense and hard to follow.
Also, I'm not familiar with Iranian culture, much less the Persian language, so I felt like I missed some of the cadence and elegant rhythms from the original.
All in all, it was a good read that would be worth another shot after I learn some more things about Iran.
Also, I'm not familiar with Iranian culture, much less the Persian language, so I felt like I missed some of the cadence and elegant rhythms from the original.
All in all, it was a good read that would be worth another shot after I learn some more things about Iran.
November 18, 2008
Let’s start with a disclaimer. I am in no way qualified to discuss Iranian poetry as it relates to the country’s larger social, historical, or literary culture. The sad truth is that the number of critics in America who are qualified – fully, truly qualified – to critique a translation of Iranian poetry is miniscule. However, I was comforted when I came to this passage in the introduction to the new anthology, Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians Around the World: “In 2002, when I began my research for this book, my goal was to discover and explore Persian poetry created by Iranians living outside Iran who had left because of the 1979 revolution. Aware that the rich tradition of Persian literature can be intimidating and difficult to penetrate, I embarked on this journey with a sense that I was already behind.”
It seems that even the editor and translator of this outstanding anthology, Niloufar Talebi, is daunted by the deep history and major role that poetry plays in Iranian culture. And she is an Iranian who grew up surrounded by poets, most influentially Ahmad Shamlou (1925-2000) who Talebi describes as “one of Iran’s greatest thinkers and cultural icons, an artist considered a national treasure to Iranians everywhere.” In her introduction, Talebi describes the literary salons that his parents would host where Talebi – a small girl, eavesdropping from the other room - would hear the strains of classical music as Shamlou held forth on lines of poetry by “Nima, Lorca, Neruda, Hafez, Akhmatova, Antoine de Saint-Expery, Langston Hughes, Baudelaire, Hedayat, and Farrokhzad.” As Talebi’s interest in literature grew, Shamlou provided her with books and guidance.
After reading her introduction and the first few sections of Belonging, I realized that Talebi had accomplished perhaps the greatest service that a translator of Iranian poetry for American audiences can provide: she made the Iranian poetic landscape feel familiar. Not only familiar, but modern, full of laughter, rich with wonder, completely joyful and terrible and worthy of revisiting multiple times. Without being able to compare it to the original Arabic, I can only say that the poetry in Talebi’s translations is lucid, rich with music, and highly accessible. It is useful to know that all of the poets included in this collection are “79ers” which means that they immigrated after the 1979 Iranian revolution. This knowledge gives extra resonance to a poem such as “To a Snail” which reads in its entirety:
To A Snail
Oh you little home-on-your-back!
Weren’t you afraid that my huge foot
Would sweep you away?
Last night, under the rain,
You slid into my sneaker
For shelter.
Today,
You return to your green birthplace
Leaving me covetous, longing for mine.
Even without knowing that “To a Snail” was written by a “79er” in exile from his homeland, this poem can be appreciated for its purely poetic merits. The clear, simple language matches the slow, simple movements of the snail. The short, finely tuned line-breaks move the poem forward with subtle, steady propulsion. The pining first word “Oh” in praise of the snail along with a first line punctuated by an exclamation point reminds us that this ode to nature has its roots in the spirit of Romanticism. In short, this is a finely wrought, lovely poem, regardless of its lineage. In fact, learning that its author, Majid Naficy, had more than ten of his relatives – including his brother – executed in Iran before he fled the country via Turkey in 1983 freights this little poem with more baggage than it deserves. Then again, what tremendous heart to write such a delicate poem of praise after suffering such wrenching loss. Indeed, the brief biographies that Niloufar Talebi includes before each poet’s selection are illuminating and illustrate the geographical fracturing of Iranian poetic culture. However, I am tempted to urge you to skip those biographies on first read; to simply go through the book enjoying each poem as its own pure creation. After that, go back and read the entire book again, including the informative, often heartbreaking biographies. On the first reading, you will come away with a memorable poetic experience. On the second, you will come away with a deep understanding – and profound respect – for the hardships these poets have suffered and the incredible hearts that they have to keep creating their art. You will also come away with a truth that runs through all countries and runs counter to all oppression: you can’t kill poetry.
It seems that even the editor and translator of this outstanding anthology, Niloufar Talebi, is daunted by the deep history and major role that poetry plays in Iranian culture. And she is an Iranian who grew up surrounded by poets, most influentially Ahmad Shamlou (1925-2000) who Talebi describes as “one of Iran’s greatest thinkers and cultural icons, an artist considered a national treasure to Iranians everywhere.” In her introduction, Talebi describes the literary salons that his parents would host where Talebi – a small girl, eavesdropping from the other room - would hear the strains of classical music as Shamlou held forth on lines of poetry by “Nima, Lorca, Neruda, Hafez, Akhmatova, Antoine de Saint-Expery, Langston Hughes, Baudelaire, Hedayat, and Farrokhzad.” As Talebi’s interest in literature grew, Shamlou provided her with books and guidance.
After reading her introduction and the first few sections of Belonging, I realized that Talebi had accomplished perhaps the greatest service that a translator of Iranian poetry for American audiences can provide: she made the Iranian poetic landscape feel familiar. Not only familiar, but modern, full of laughter, rich with wonder, completely joyful and terrible and worthy of revisiting multiple times. Without being able to compare it to the original Arabic, I can only say that the poetry in Talebi’s translations is lucid, rich with music, and highly accessible. It is useful to know that all of the poets included in this collection are “79ers” which means that they immigrated after the 1979 Iranian revolution. This knowledge gives extra resonance to a poem such as “To a Snail” which reads in its entirety:
To A Snail
Oh you little home-on-your-back!
Weren’t you afraid that my huge foot
Would sweep you away?
Last night, under the rain,
You slid into my sneaker
For shelter.
Today,
You return to your green birthplace
Leaving me covetous, longing for mine.
Even without knowing that “To a Snail” was written by a “79er” in exile from his homeland, this poem can be appreciated for its purely poetic merits. The clear, simple language matches the slow, simple movements of the snail. The short, finely tuned line-breaks move the poem forward with subtle, steady propulsion. The pining first word “Oh” in praise of the snail along with a first line punctuated by an exclamation point reminds us that this ode to nature has its roots in the spirit of Romanticism. In short, this is a finely wrought, lovely poem, regardless of its lineage. In fact, learning that its author, Majid Naficy, had more than ten of his relatives – including his brother – executed in Iran before he fled the country via Turkey in 1983 freights this little poem with more baggage than it deserves. Then again, what tremendous heart to write such a delicate poem of praise after suffering such wrenching loss. Indeed, the brief biographies that Niloufar Talebi includes before each poet’s selection are illuminating and illustrate the geographical fracturing of Iranian poetic culture. However, I am tempted to urge you to skip those biographies on first read; to simply go through the book enjoying each poem as its own pure creation. After that, go back and read the entire book again, including the informative, often heartbreaking biographies. On the first reading, you will come away with a memorable poetic experience. On the second, you will come away with a deep understanding – and profound respect – for the hardships these poets have suffered and the incredible hearts that they have to keep creating their art. You will also come away with a truth that runs through all countries and runs counter to all oppression: you can’t kill poetry.
June 8, 2009
I thought this book was very powerful and fantastic. I am very unfamiliar with Iranian poets and this was a perfect introduction. I liked the side-by-side translation and the notes on the poets and poems themselves.
My favourites included:
"To ruin the eye's house/in blink of the eye" - Yadolla Roya'i
"An impatient child escapes the uterine strait./My howls drown my eighteenth year./In one instant/my creation assigns its pain to me." - Four Springs by Partow Nooriala (the whole poem was very raw and full of emotion)
"Night" and "To a Snail" by Majid Naficy were wonderful.
"Saturday Night Dinner" by Abbas Saffari was very powerful and his "Revenge" was wonderful, deep, and funny.
"The Dead Dear One" by Saghi Ghahraman was creepy and "I Hang Myself" was just as creepy and twisted.
Jamshid Moshkani's "Book of Fears: Part 1" had a fantastic line, "No matter how much I stared/each alphabet in the face,/the first letter was always//trepidation." Plus he mentioned Shams-e Tabriz, which endears me to him.
"Infinitely reflected,/A poet is on fire." - Shahrouz Rashid (Seasonless Year)
"I always felt that/Not today,//But tomorrow,/I would be plucked//Apart." - Shahrouz Rashid (Icarus)
"How many modernized kisses will it take/to please this smart whore?" - Maryam Huleh
Bottom line: I want to own this in the future.
My favourites included:
"To ruin the eye's house/in blink of the eye" - Yadolla Roya'i
"An impatient child escapes the uterine strait./My howls drown my eighteenth year./In one instant/my creation assigns its pain to me." - Four Springs by Partow Nooriala (the whole poem was very raw and full of emotion)
"Night" and "To a Snail" by Majid Naficy were wonderful.
"Saturday Night Dinner" by Abbas Saffari was very powerful and his "Revenge" was wonderful, deep, and funny.
"The Dead Dear One" by Saghi Ghahraman was creepy and "I Hang Myself" was just as creepy and twisted.
Jamshid Moshkani's "Book of Fears: Part 1" had a fantastic line, "No matter how much I stared/each alphabet in the face,/the first letter was always//trepidation." Plus he mentioned Shams-e Tabriz, which endears me to him.
"Infinitely reflected,/A poet is on fire." - Shahrouz Rashid (Seasonless Year)
"I always felt that/Not today,//But tomorrow,/I would be plucked//Apart." - Shahrouz Rashid (Icarus)
"How many modernized kisses will it take/to please this smart whore?" - Maryam Huleh
Bottom line: I want to own this in the future.
August 28, 2015
Here is a collection of poems in two languages. Belonging, edited and translated by Niloufar Talebi, shows the poem in the original language of Iranian writers, and then offers the same poem in English as well as some background about the poets.
A lot of these poets no longer live in Iran. I can't imagine moving to another area code let alone another country. Some were forced to move. Some moved to be with family. Some move around still. The poetry that comes from living in a land that doesn't necessarily allow free speech, that has a history of imprisonment and executions, is haunting and beautiful. Somehow the poetry I usually dislike most--nature, animals, sentimental sap--comes across as fresh and interesting in these voices.
A lot of these poets no longer live in Iran. I can't imagine moving to another area code let alone another country. Some were forced to move. Some moved to be with family. Some move around still. The poetry that comes from living in a land that doesn't necessarily allow free speech, that has a history of imprisonment and executions, is haunting and beautiful. Somehow the poetry I usually dislike most--nature, animals, sentimental sap--comes across as fresh and interesting in these voices.
August 19, 2008
What Niloufar Talebi has done in this collection is remarkable. She edited and translated this volume of Iranian poets living outside of Iran to create a beautiful collection, fully accessible to the English-only speaker.
I interviewed Niloufar Talebi, on The Moe Green Poetry Hour:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/onword/2...
and on my show, Translated By:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/onword/2...
Please check out her work! :-) If you do google searches for "Niloufar Talebi," you can also find short films based on several of the poems in this volume.
I interviewed Niloufar Talebi, on The Moe Green Poetry Hour:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/onword/2...
and on my show, Translated By:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/onword/2...
Please check out her work! :-) If you do google searches for "Niloufar Talebi," you can also find short films based on several of the poems in this volume.
February 9, 2014
I bought this book on a whim from better world books, simply because I needed something to take me far and away from my studies. It truly is a hauntingly beautiful collection of poetry from writers who position themselves in a variety of different ways in terms of proximity to Iran and the Iranian revolution. Hardly a dull moment within the bunch. The transliteration is suburb, which is difficult to find in terms of poetry anthologies whose have a Semitic linguistic base. Overall a fantastic anthology.
May 12, 2008
A remarkable effort. Translations of modern works from the Arabic and Persian are rare and generally unhelpful. Ms. Talebi's work stands out as an exception. I was particularly impressed by Love is Lemony, which, though I can only read it phonetically, seems exactly to capture the feeling of the original.
January 17, 2009
lost in translation can be applied to both beauty and drabness...
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews