Poetry at Sangam
Poetry at Sangam showcases poetry in English and translations as well as essays on poetics and news of new releases.
In the first decade of the 21st century a group of Avant-garde poets in Iran began a dialogue that resulted in an important movement in Iranian poetry. Behzad Zarrinpour is considered one of the most notable of these poets. Lidless Coffins Without Bodies is considered by many as a masterpiece and is arguably one of the most poignant war poems coming out of Iran. About the poem, Zarrinpour writes: “This was a meaningful poem for me because I was a witness to an important part of our history; one that I could not help but feel depressed about. After the war I returned to Khoramshahr and I was so moved that I saw myself in the beginning of a poem that kept carry me on its back. Imagine you spend your childhood in a city full of sheer joy and life, but suddenly an event like war sends you fleeing away and you begin to live in the dream of that city; the fantasy that one day you will go back to you city of childhood… and when you do you come face to face with an utter tragedy. Dreams shatter, and here the poem begins.” Zarrinpour was born in 1968 in the city of Khoramshahr, Iran. An award-winning poet, he is also an editor and journalist.
Translated from Persian by Sholeh Wolpé
Lidless Coffins With No Bodies
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