The book “A Breeze from Persia: A Selection of Ten Persian Contemporary Poets” has been released on February 2023. Translators are Mahvash Shahegh Hariri and David Darick.

This book is a collection of selected poems of ten famous contemporary Iranian poets of 20th and 21st century. These poets are immediate followers of Nima Yushij, the father of modern  Persian poetry, or she’r-e no.

The selected poets are: (not in alphabetical order) Mehdi Akhavan-e sales, Houshang Ebtehaj, Simin Behbahani, Sohrab Sepehri , Ahmad Shamlou, Mohammad Reza Shafi’i Kadkani, Forough Farrokhzad, Siavash Kasra’i , Mahmoud Moshref Azad Tehrani , and last but not least, Nader Naderpour.

In the preface of the book we read:

”Although Persia is widely considered an intellectual and creative cradle of poetry—with many Persian classical mystics such as Rumi, Hafez, Saa’di and Ferdowsi recognized globally by enthusiasts of literature and poetry—little is known about the contemporary poets of 20th and 21st century Iran. These poets depict a style following in the literary footsteps of Nima Yushij, the father of modern Persian poetry, or as it is referred to in Persian, she’r-e no and she’r-e Nimaii.

In an effort to introduce these poets and offer a taste of their work to English-speaking aesthetes, we selected some of the most prominent and immediate followers of Nima and his style of poetry. This work offers both an English translation alongside the Persian originals.

It should be stated that in choosing these 10 contemporary poets there were no specific criteria other than our personal love for these selections.

It is our hope that these poems bring as much appreciation and enjoyment to our readers as they bring to us.”

It should be mentioned that translators added the original Persian poems in Persian language for the skilled readers in both languages.

This book is now available in Amazon.