Jasmin and Stars: Reading More than Lolita in Tehran

A discussion with the author: Prof. Fatemeh Keshavarz

Saturday, 15 September 2007, 8:30 PM

Fatemeh Keshavarz is a scholar, teacher and poet seeking to change the widespread impression that Iran is a stagnant, joyless society populated only by villains and their victims. In her intimate exploration of Iranian literature and society, Jasmine and Stars, she introduces us to two modern Iranian women writers whose experiences and work contrast sharply with mainstream Western notions that Iranian women are a helpless, repressed minority. The book also critiques the recent best-seller “Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books”, by Dr Azar Nafisi, which epitomizes what Keshavarz calls the “New Orientalist narrative,” a view marred by stereotype and prejudice more often tied to current geopolitical conflicts than to any real understanding of Iran. Blending in firsthand glimpses of her own life—from childhood memories in 1960s Shiraz to her present life as a professor in America—Keshavarz shares a timely view of Iran’s cultural depth and intellectual complexity.

This event is proudly brought to you by Kanoon Towhid - An Iranian student centre in London.

Date & Time:
Saturday, 15 September 2007, 8:30 PM

Venue:
Kanoon Towhid
30 - 32 Southerton Road
Hammersmith
London W6 0PH

The event will conclude by a reading of the book and signed copies will be available for purchase.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

FATEMEH KESHAVARZ is professor of Persian and comparative literature and chair of the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures at Washington University in St. Louis. She is author of four previous books, including Reading Mystical Lyric: The Case of Jalal Al-Din Rumi and a volume of poetry. Keshavarz was born and raised in the city of Shiraz in southwest Iran.

THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC