Forugh Farrokhzad (1934–1967)
Author of Sin: Selected Poems of Forugh Farrokhzad
About the Author
Forough Farrokhzad (1934-1967)-poet, painter, screenwriter, and filmmaker-is one of Iran's most venerated literary figures. She published four collections of poetry in her lifetime; a fifth appeared after her death. Elizabeth T. Gray, Jr. is the author of the poetry books Salient and Series | India show more and the translator of Wine and Prayer: Eighty Ghazals from the Diwan of Hafiz. show less
Image credit: Forough Farrokhzad
Works by Forugh Farrokhzad
تولدی دیگر 6 copies
Divan of Forough Farrokhzad 3 copies
Bride of Acacias: Selected Poems of Forugh Farrokhzad (Modern Persian literature series) (1982) 2 copies
گزینه اشعار فروغ فرخزاد 2 copies
Ik voel deernis met de tuin 1 copy
Forough e Yek Zendegi 1 copy
The Captive 1 copy
مختارات من أشعار فروغ فرخزاد 1 copy
دیوان فروغ فرخزاد 1 copy
عصیان 1 copy
برگزیدهی اشعار فروغ فرخزاد 1 copy
Associated Works
Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East (Words Without Borders) (2010) — Contributor — 223 copies, 2 reviews
The Mirror of My Heart: A Thousand Years of Persian Poetry by Women (2019) — Contributor — 75 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Farrokhzad, Forugh
- Legal name
- Farrokhzad, Forughzaman
- Other names
- فروغ فرخزاد
- Birthdate
- 1934-12-28
- Date of death
- 1967-02-14
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Kamal al-Molk school (painting)
- Occupations
- poet
filmmaker
painter
screenwriter - Organizations
- Roshanfekr (literary journal)
Golestan Film studio - Relationships
- Farrokhzad, Fereydoun (brother)
Farrokhzad, Pooran (sister)
Shahpour, Kamyar (biological son)
Mansouri, Hossein (adopted son)
Shahpour, Parviz (ex-husband: m. 1952; div. 1955)
Golestan, Ebrahim (lover: 1960-1967) - Short biography
- Born in 1934 in Tehran, Iran to a middle-class family, Forough Farrokhzad is widely regarded to be one of the most influential modernist poets in the Persian language. Poet, iconoclast, artist, and filmmaker, Farrokhzad had an eye and a talent for articulating struggle—the struggles of illicit desire, of intimacy, of societal pressures and double standards, of freedom, of responsibility. One of the few women who broke the ranks of Iran's overwhelmingly male literati, she published her first poem at twenty and shattered the literary glass ceiling of her day. Farrokhzad was heavily criticized throughout her career, and posthumously, for the strength of her poetic voice and the autobiographical nature of her work. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, her work was banned in Iran for a decade and subject to censorship due to its "indecency." Her popularity, both in Iran and beyond its borders, has only increased in the intervening decades, and she is widely regarded as one of the most significant figures in 20th century Persian letters.
- Cause of death
- car accident
- Nationality
- Iran
- Birthplace
- Tehran, Iran
- Places of residence
- Ahvaz, Iran
- Place of death
- Tehran, Iran
- Burial location
- Zahir-od-Dowleh Cemetery, Tajrish, Tehran, Iran
- Map Location
- Iran
Members
Reviews
Forugh Farrokhzad was an Iranian poet of the 1950s and 60s, who died tragically when she was 32. Her poems caused quite a stir because they were sensuous and modern rather than traditional, and, while women were often the subjects of much Iranian poetry (written by men, of course) she was a woman now writing about men. She stretched the boundaries of what Iranian women could say. She quickly became a literary celebrity.
On first reading I thought these poems somewhat unsophisticated and show more plain-spoken, albeit passionately so. But I did not bring my full, thoughtful attention to that first read (for clearly the collection intrigued me enough when I browsed through it in the bookstore to inspire me to purchase it) As a Western women (or men) reading these poems a half century later, we take for granted being able to express ourselves passionately, so understanding the cultural context these poems were written enhances one reading. And Farrokhzad is a young poet and that youth is apparent in her work. Even now, 50+ years after her first collection was published (1955), her poetry is still rich with emotional and sensual/sexual intensity. Here are some excerpts of the many I like:
Those days are gone
the days of staring at the secrets of flesh,
of cautious intimacies and the blue-veined beauty
of a hand holding a flower, calling
from behind a wall
to another hand—
a small ink-stained hand,
anxious, trembling, and afraid...
And love unveiling in a shy salaam.
---excerpt from "Those Days" in the collection Reborn, 1964
Like the disheveled locks of a woman
the Karun river spreads itself
on the naked shoulders of the shore.
The sun is gone, and the night's hot breath
wafts over the water's beating heart.
Far in the distance the river's southern shore
is love-drunk in moonlight's embrace.
The night with its million brilliant bloodshot eyes
spies on beds of innocent lovers
The cane field is fast asleep. A bird
shrieks from amid its darkness,
and the moonbeams rush to see
what fear has driven it to such despair.
---excerpt from "Grief" in the collection Asir (1955, her first collection)
Our garden is forlorn.
It yawns waiting
for rain from a stray cloud,
and our pond sits empty.
Callow stars bite the dust
from atop tall trees
and from the pale home of the fish
comes the hack of coughing every night.
Our garden is forlorn.
---excerpt from "I Pity the Garden" in the collection Let Us Believe in the Dawn of the Cold Season (1967, published posthumously) show less
On first reading I thought these poems somewhat unsophisticated and show more plain-spoken, albeit passionately so. But I did not bring my full, thoughtful attention to that first read (for clearly the collection intrigued me enough when I browsed through it in the bookstore to inspire me to purchase it) As a Western women (or men) reading these poems a half century later, we take for granted being able to express ourselves passionately, so understanding the cultural context these poems were written enhances one reading. And Farrokhzad is a young poet and that youth is apparent in her work. Even now, 50+ years after her first collection was published (1955), her poetry is still rich with emotional and sensual/sexual intensity. Here are some excerpts of the many I like:
Those days are gone
the days of staring at the secrets of flesh,
of cautious intimacies and the blue-veined beauty
of a hand holding a flower, calling
from behind a wall
to another hand—
a small ink-stained hand,
anxious, trembling, and afraid...
And love unveiling in a shy salaam.
---excerpt from "Those Days" in the collection Reborn, 1964
Like the disheveled locks of a woman
the Karun river spreads itself
on the naked shoulders of the shore.
The sun is gone, and the night's hot breath
wafts over the water's beating heart.
Far in the distance the river's southern shore
is love-drunk in moonlight's embrace.
The night with its million brilliant bloodshot eyes
spies on beds of innocent lovers
The cane field is fast asleep. A bird
shrieks from amid its darkness,
and the moonbeams rush to see
what fear has driven it to such despair.
---excerpt from "Grief" in the collection Asir (1955, her first collection)
Our garden is forlorn.
It yawns waiting
for rain from a stray cloud,
and our pond sits empty.
Callow stars bite the dust
from atop tall trees
and from the pale home of the fish
comes the hack of coughing every night.
Our garden is forlorn.
---excerpt from "I Pity the Garden" in the collection Let Us Believe in the Dawn of the Cold Season (1967, published posthumously) show less
a beautiful collection of wonderful poems from a poet that deserves more attention. the translations did them justice, though i would not have minded some extra embellishment in some. wonderful.
Really good poems! I felt like I would have appreciated it more if I grew up around that time era. Either way great read.
Took me longer to read because I only read while at the salon.
Took me longer to read because I only read while at the salon.
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