About the Book

The eleventh volume in this ground-breaking series pays special attention to politically engaged poetry, written during a turbulent period which saw the Constitutional Revolution in Iran as well as the rise to power of Reza Shah and his attempts to implement reform. Throughout this time, poets began to turn their attention towards the country's ordinary people, rather than concentrate on its elites. This volume also examines the prose fiction of the period, which saw the rise of the novel and short story. Additionally, Persian satire began to grow in importance, especially with the increased popularity of poets and novelists such as Iraj Mirza and Sadeq Hedayat. This wide-ranging volume is an invaluable companion for anyone who wants to understand how the Persian literary scene changed at the beginning of the twentieth century, reflecting the social and political contexts in which this literature was created
About the Author:

Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab is Associate Professor at Leiden University. His publications include Layli and Majnun: Love, Madness and Mystic Longing in Nizami's Epic Romance (2003), Mirror of Dew: The Poetry of Alam-Taj Zhale Qa'em-Maqami (2014), Courtly Riddles: Enigmatic Embellishments in Early Persian Poetry (2008), One Word--Yak kaleme: A 19th-Century Persian Treatise Introducing Western Codified Law (2008) and Conflict and Development in Iranian Film (2013). He has translated several volumes of modern Persian poetry, including the poetry of Sohrab Sepehri, Forugh Farrokhzad, Mohammad-Reza Shafi'i Kadkani, and (together with J.T.P. de Bruijn) Ahmad Shamlu, Nader Naderpur, and Hushang Ebtehaj. He is the founding general editor of the Iranian Studies Series at Leiden University Press and the Modern Persian Poetry Series. Ehsan Yarshater is the Director of the Center for Iranian Studies and Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies, Columbia University and the Founding Editor of the Encyclopaedia Iranica

Table of Contents:
Contributors • Foreword • Preface CHAPTER ONE: THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND OF THE LITERATURE OF THE PERIOD (1900-1940) (Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab) • A Historical Sketch of the Period • The Constitutional Revolution (1905-11) • Persia and the First World War • The Ascension of Reza Khan • The Rise of Pahlavi Dynasty and Reza Shah’s Reforms • The Clergy’s Role in the Political Events • Conclusions CHAPTER TWO: POETRY AS AWAKENING: SINGING MODERNITY (Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab) • Introduction • Farewell to Classical Themes • The Language of Poetry • Themes and Topics of the Revolutionary Poetry • New Gender Relations, and Reactions • Nationalistic Tendencies in Poetry • Pro-German and Anti-British and Anti-Russian Sentiments • Poetic Forms • The Ghazal as a Political Device • Singing Freedom, the Persian Ballad (Tasnif) • New Poetic Forms • Folk Poetry in a Constitutional Setting • Poetry and Newspapers • Conclusions CHAPTER THREE: MODERN PERSIAN PROSE AND FICTION BETWEEN 1900 AND 1940 (Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab) • Introduction • Persian Political Treatises and Travelogues • Translations from European Languages • The Role of Politicians in Reforming the Language and Introducing New Genres • The Prelude to the Constitutional Revolution. • The Early Pahlavi Era • Conclusions CHAPTER FOUR: SATIRE IN PERSIAN LITERATURE, 1900-1940 (Homa Katouzian) • Introduction • The Constitutional Revolution and After • The Nationalist Poets Aref of Qazvin (1882-1934) and Mohammad-Reza Mirzade Eshqi (1893-1924). • Jalal-al-Mamalek Iraj Mirza (1874-1926). • Mohammad-Taqi Bahar (1886-1951) • Moharnmad-Ali jamalzade (1892-1997) • Sadeq Hedayat (1903-1951) • ‘The Islamic Mission to European Countries’ • Alaviye Khanom • Talab-e Amorzesh • Vagh-vagh Sahab • The Patriot • Ridicule of the Contemporary Literary Studies • Letters CHAPTER FIVE: WOMEN POETS (Dominic Parviz Brookshaw) • Introduction • Fasl-e Bahar Khanorn, ‘Jannat’ (1878-1940) • Esmat Khanorn Tehrani, “Tayere’ (1871-1911) • Shams Kasma’i (1883-1961) • Fakhr-e Ozrna Arghun, ‘Fakhri’ (1899-1966) • Zanddokht Shirazi (1909-1952) • Alam-taj Qa’em-Maqami, ‘Zhale’ (1883-1946) • Parvin E’tesarni (1907-1941) • Conclusions CHAPTER SIX: TRANSLATIONS OF EUROPEAN POETRY AND THEIR RECEPTION (Parvin Loloi) • Introduction • The Role of the Press • The Literary Debate • Political and Patriotic Poetry. • Poetry and Women’s Emancipation • Domestication of the Foreign • Conclusions CHAPTER SEVEN: A HISTORY OF IRANIAN DRAMA (1850-1941) (Saeed Talajooy) • Introduction • Indigenous Performing and Carnival Traditions in Iran • The Rise of European-Style Drama in Iran (1850-1857) • The Court and Western-Style Drama and Performances in Iran (1875-1890) • Religious Minorities, Socio-Political Transformation, and Revolutionary Modernity: The Expansion of Western-Style Performances (1890-1918) • The Plays and the Playwrights (1890-1918) Morteza-Qoli Fekri (1870-1917) Ahmad Mahmudi (1875-1930) • Authoritative Modernity, Archaist Nationalism and Censorship: Iranian Drama and Theater between 1918 and 1941 • The Plays and the Playwrights (1918-1941) • Mohammad-Reza Mirzade Eshqi (1893-1924) • Hasan Moqaddam (1897-1925) • Reza Kamal (Shahrzad) (1898-1938) • Gerigor Yaqikian (1880-1951) • Sayyed Ali Nasr (1893-1962) • Arbab Aflatun Keykhosrow Shahrokh (1875-1940) • Mir Seyf-al-Din Kerrnanshahi (1876-1932) • Sa’id Nafisi (1895-1966) • Zabih Behruz (1890-1971) • Sadeq Hedayat (1903-1951) • Other Playwrights • Conclusions CHAPTER EIGHT: EARLY TWENTIETH-CENTURY JOURNALS IN IRAN: RESPONSE TO MODERNITY IN LITERARY REVIEWS (Kamran Talattof) • Introduction • Early Literary Journals • Journals of the Constitutional and Post-Constitutional Period • Early Journals for Women • Modernity versus Tradition • Committed and Radical Journals • Conclusions CHAPTER NINE: THE HISTORY OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE (1900-1940) (Zohreh Ghaeni) • Formative Era • Literature of the Maktab-khâne • Children’s Literature before • Classical Literary Tradition as Children’s Literature. • Translations from European Literary Sources. • Children’s Literature from 1920 to 1940 BIBLIOGRAPHY • INDEX