Forough Farrokhzad – An Uproar in the Contemporary Persian Poetry

Towards the middle of the twentieth century, a new tradition of women’s poetry came into being in Iran; a tradition of women intensely involved in self-reflection and self-revelation, not sheltered or restrained by the anonymity or opacity of a veil; a tradition of women who not only revealed themselves but also unveiled men in their writings. The list includes, among others, Zand-Dokht Shirazi (1911-1952), Jaleh Esfahani (b.1921), Parvin Dowlatabadi (b.1922), Simin Behbahani (1927-2014), Lo’bat Vala Sheybani (b. 1930) Mahin Sekandari (b. 1940), Forough Farrokhzad (1935-1967), and Tahereh Saffarzadeh (b.1936). With body unveiled and pen in hand, they led the reader behind walls and veils to the domain of the private; among them, Forough Farrokhzad made uproar in the contemporary Persian poetry and challenged the stony slept women and men who had been paralysed in their immobile thoughts