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Leaving, Staying, Returning
Bibliotheca Iranica: Persian Fiction in Translation 21
In the three stories of Leaving, Staying, A Trilogy, Shahrokh Meskoob explores the question of identity in relation to individuals and groups that have left their native country and culture and live as immigrants, whether by choice or by force, in a country and culture alien to their own. In Traveler's Chronicle, which is the story of leaving his country and his early days in exile, he tells the story of his departure and the reason for it; but through his story, he also tells the story of millions of not only Iranian but also other immigrants and exiles. The rather negative and bitter tone of the story of leaving is obviously due to the fact that the narrator has been uprooted from his natural environment in his country without having been able to establish roots in the new environment and culture. The tone of Dialogue in the Garden, in which the narrator seems to feel somewhat settled in the new environment, is more contemplative, and he seems to be seeking a home or a homeland in his imagination. In Journey in a Dream, the tone is nostalgic, and the narrator s return is through memories and remembrances. While within these stories, Meskoob explores his own individual as well as Iranian collective cultural identity, he also sheds light on cultural identity in our world today, in which exile and immigration have become more common than ever before.
In the three stories of Leaving, Staying, A Trilogy, Shahrokh Meskoob explores the question of identity in relation to individuals and groups that have left their native country and culture and live as immigrants, whether by choice or by force, in a country and culture alien to their own. In Traveler's Chronicle, which is the story of leaving his country and his early days in exile, he tells the story of his departure and the reason for it; but through his story, he also tells the story of millions of not only Iranian but also other immigrants and exiles. The rather negative and bitter tone of the story of leaving is obviously due to the fact that the narrator has been uprooted from his natural environment in his country without having been able to establish roots in the new environment and culture. The tone of Dialogue in the Garden, in which the narrator seems to feel somewhat settled in the new environment, is more contemplative, and he seems to be seeking a home or a homeland in his imagination. In Journey in a Dream, the tone is nostalgic, and the narrator s return is through memories and remembrances. While within these stories, Meskoob explores his own individual as well as Iranian collective cultural identity, he also sheds light on cultural identity in our world today, in which exile and immigration have become more common than ever before.
124 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2007
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About the author
شاهرخ مسکوب
32 books243 followersشاهرخ مسکوب، روشنفکر، نویسنده، مترجم و شاهنامه‌شناس، در سال ۱۳۰۴ در بابل به دنیا آمد. دوره‌ی ابتدایی را در مدرسه‌ی علمیه‌ی تهران گذراند و ادامه‌ی تحصیلاتش را در اصفهان پی گرفت. در سال ۱۳۲۴ به تهران بازگشت و در سال ۱۳۲۷ از دانشگاه تهران در رشته‌ی حقوق فارغ‌التحصیل شد. نخستين نوشته‌هايش را در ۱۳۲۶ با عنوان تفسير اخبار خارجی در روزنامه« قيام ايران» به چاپ رساند. از ۱۳۳۶ به مطالعه و تحقيق در حوزه‌ی فرهنگ، ادبيات و ترجمه روی آورد. پیش از انقلاب به خاطر مبارزات سیاسی علیه رژیم پهلوی چندبار راهی زندان شد. مدتی پس از انقلاب به پاریس مهاجرت کرد و تا آخرین روز حیات به فعالیت فرهنگی خود ادامه داد و به نگارش، ترجمه و پژوهش پرداخت. مسکوب در روز سه‌شنبه بیست‌وسوم فروردين ۱۳۸۴ در بيمارستان كوشن پاريس درگذشت. شهرت مسکوب تا حد زیادی وامدار پژوهش‌های او در «شاهنامه» فردوسی است. کتاب «ارمغان مور» و «مقدمه‌ای بر رستم و اسفندیار» او از مهم‌ترین منابع شاهنامه‌پژوهی به شمار می‌روند. مسکوب برخی از آثار مهم ادبیات مدرن و کلاسیک غرب را نیز به فارسی ترجمه کرده است. از جمله آثار او می‌توان به ترجمه‌ی کتابهای «خوشه‌های خشم» جان اشتاین بک، مجموعه «افسانه تبای» سوفوکلس و تألیف کتابهای «سوگ سیاوش»، «داستان ادبیات و سرگذشت اجتماع»، «مقدمه‌ای بر رستم و اسفندیار»، «در کوی دوست»، «گفت و گو در باغ»، «چند گفتار در فرهنگ ایران»، «خواب و خاموشی»، «روزها در راه»، «ارمغان مور»، «سوگ مادر»، «شکاریم یک سر همه پیش مرگ»، «سوگ سياوش در مرگ و رستاخيز»، «مسافرنامه»، «سفر در خواب»، «نقش ديوان، دين و عرفان در نثر فارسی»، «درباره سياست و فرهنگ» در گفت وگو با علی بنو عزيزی، «تن پهلوان و روان خردمند»، «مليت و زبان (هويت ايرانی و زبان فارسی) اشاره کرد.
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