|
|
Americans, provided our imaginations don't simply
go blank, largely share a few hard images of Iran. We think of the grim-faced
Ayatollah Khomeini, of the 1978 hostage crisis, and now - spurred by recent
headlines - we think of nuclear bombs. Our minds likely don't turn to Iran's
outstanding films, to the splendor of Persian poetry, or to the frenetic
underground parties held on the outskirts of Tehran.
Contributors to the anthology My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard
Your Eyes would like to change that, to supplement our reductive,
adversarial
images with ideas about the richness of Iranian art and literature. In her
opening essay, Azar Nafisi sounds the keynote for the collection when she
anticipates that culture, stories, and language can be a common ground, a
"Republic of the Imagination" in which we look past national and religious
boundaries and connect with each other.
The phenomenal success of Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Teheran opened a
path for
expatriate and international writers of Iranian descent, many of whom contribute
to this project:
* The poet Naghmeh Zarbafian, Nafisi's student, reads a Milan Kundera novel in
two versions: the original and the censored translation allowed in Iran.
* Two U.S.-based journalists and memoirists reflect on racial and religious
identities: Gelareh Asayesh, author of Saffron Sky, writes of how
Iranians
aren't seen as "white" in the U.S., and Roya Hakakian, author of Journey From
the Land of No, recalls her childhood in Iran's Jewish community.
* Reza Aslan, author of the excellent history of Islam No God But God,
writes
about Iran's domination by religious bureaucracy, and Azadeh Moaveni, author of
Lipstick Jihad, describes sex and secret speakeasies in a country that
has
tried to outlaw vice.
* Interviews with film director Abbas Kiarostami and Oscar nominee Shoreh
Aghdashloo (House of Sand and Fog) will have you queuing up your Netflix.
* Acclaimed cartoonist Marjane Satrapi, creator of the Persepolis graphic
novels, adds a short piece on the West's perception of Muslims.
This anthology aims to be broad rather than deep; its essays give a taste of
contemporary Iran and introduce the host of talented Iranian writers publishing
in English. It's a treat to have them gathered together - and a healthy
supplement to our ingrained images of Iran.
Review by Mark
David Bradshaw, April 12, 2006
The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America by Kenneth
Pollack:
http://www.watermarkbooks.com/review0705-008.html
Reading Lolita in Tehran: a Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi:
http://www.watermarkbooks.com/review0803-004.html
|
