Fīrūzah Mīzānī: Life and Work Fīrūzah Mīzānī, born on  Āzar 21, 1329/December 12, 1950, in Tehran, is a contemporary Iranian poet, journalist, writer, and translator. Mīzānī holds a degree in Management from the University of…

Introduction This article explores the life and work of Marvā Nabīlī, an overlooked yet significant figure in modern Iranian art, cinema, and poetry. Known for her deeply personal and feminist voice, Nabīlī moved fluidly between…

The Constitutional Revolution marked the beginning of a new awakening across Iran, especially in Gilan. One of the most profound impacts of this political, social, and intellectual movement was the active participation of women in…

Introduction This article examines the Safarʹnāmah-ʾi hajj, a unique pilgrimage travelogue composed in verse by Shahrʹbānū Baygum, wife of the Safavid court official Mīrzā Khalīl.1While the name Shahrʹbānū Baygum is not securely attested in any…

Introduction In the history of Persian poetry, there are few women poets, and even fewer known for their conviction of “heresy,” who have left as indelible a mark as Fātimah Baraghānī, famously known as Tāhirah…

Introduction Rawyā Taftī [Roya Tafti] is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Iranian poetry, emerging from the postmodern literary scene of the 1370s/1990s alongside poets influenced by Rizā Barāhanī and the “Language Poetry…

Introduction Tāhirah Saffārʹzādah (1938–2008) stands as a distinctive and transformative figure in modern Persian literature. Known for her revolutionary and religious poetry, she has often been categorized as a poet of ideology and resistance. Yet…

Malakah Iʿtizādī (1306–1367/1928–1989),1She was born to Muhammad Bāqir Iʿtizādī, also known as Afkhām al-Saltanah. Her mother’s name was Aqdas al-Muluk Amīr Yaʿqūbī. Uvays, Ilāhah and Parniyān were her siblings. Also, in the endnotes added to…

Introduction There is no definitive information regarding the birth and death dates of Mahsatī Ganjavī. ʿAwfī’s Lubāb al-albāb (The quintessence of hearts), the earliest anthology (tazkirah) of Persian poets, makes no mention her, nor of…

Introduction Over the past century, modern Iranian poetry has witnessed various poetic movements, some of which were short-lived and gave way to other poetic trends. A significant distinguishing feature of modern Persian poetry, in contrast…

Introduction The Mongol invasion of Iran in the thirteenth century brought an end to the rule of the Khwarazmian dynasty, the central government of the time. Insecurity, famine, and widespread massacre engulfed the entire country. However,…

Introduction The historical dominance of patriarchy in Iran has long marginalized women poets, contributing to the exclusion of many from the classical literary canon. However, with the growing advocacy for modernism from the late Qajar…

Qudsiyah Ihtishāmī, born Habībah Baygum (AH 1320–1402/1288–1360/1902–1981), was the daughter of a certain ʿAlī Muhammad. While information about her early life and family remains scarce, her husband, ʿAlī Akbar Ihtishāmī, has a more extensively documented…

Introduction Shams Kasmāʾī is a prominent figure in contemporary Persian poetry; however, her poetic language and thought have not received considerable attention, for various reasons. Although her ancestry can be traced back to Gilan and…

Sipīdah Judayrī (b. 1355/1976) is an Iranian poet, literary critic, and translator whose body of work includes eight poetry collections, a short story collection, and an anthology of her poems. This entry offers a contextualizing…

Figure 1: Zhīlā Musāʿid in her early forties, in Mīrzā Āqā ʿAskarī, “Rābitahʹam bā jahān az tarīq-i kalamāt ast” [My relationship with the world is through words], Muhājir 8, no. 70 (Ābān 1370/ November 1991):…

Zhālah Qāʾim-Maqāmī and the Omission of the Audience in Favour of Feminine Poetry ʿĀlam Tāj Qāʾim Maqāmī, who wrote under the penname “Zhālah,” is one of the most important contemporary women poets, and arguably the…

Fakhr ʿUzmā Arghūn (1277–1345/1898–1966) was a pioneering poet, journalist, and activist dedicated to advancing the status of women and expanding their roles in society. Her work focused primarily on the socio-political progress of Iran, with…

Introduction Maymanat Zulqadr (Mīrsādiqī) (b. 1316/1937) is a prominent and well-known contemporary poet. For a period in her career, she published her poems under the pseudonyms ‘Āzādah’ and ‘Ānāhīt.’1The author wishes to express gratitude to…

Introduction Shukūh Qāsimniyā, whose original name is Fātimah Hamadānī Qāsimniyā, is an Iranian author of children’s fiction and poetry who has been actively engaged in a wide range of creative endeavours, including poetry, fiction, adaptations…

I am what is around me.‎ Women understand this.‎ Wallace Stevens, ‎ ‎“Theory” 1917‎   Introduction In the reading of hermetic texts, two streams emerge roughly in parallel: hermetic…

Introduction Nūrī Sayyārah Gīlānī (1286–1353/1907–1974) was a relatively little-known poet in the Iranian intellectual and literary sphere. Two principal factors have contributed to the limited attention her works have received: first, her poems were not…

Introduction In the realm of feminist Persian poetry, certain names are frequently encountered, including Tāhirah Qurrat al-‎ʿAyn (AH 1230–1268/1817–1852), Zandukht Shīrāzī (1288–1331/1909–1953), Sīmīn Bihbahānī (1306–1393/1927–2014), Furūgh Farrukh′zād (1313–1345/1934–1967), and, more recently, Zhālah ‎ʿĀlamtāj Qāʾim Maqāmī…

Introduction During the 1960s and 1970s, female poets relied heavily on translation to establish connections with one another. The primary objective of the first and second-wave feminism in translation was to articulate connections between female…

Nūr Jahān Baygum was one of the beloved and powerful wives of Nūr al-Dīn Jahāngīr (1569–1627), the Mughal emperor of India, and the first lady of his harem. Her date of birth is recorded as…