Iranian Studies Series describes the full breadth of Persian culture
On 8 December, Leiden University Press will present a new international series on Persian poetry and literature. The series will be edited by Asghar Seyed Gohrab (Middle Eastern Studies).
Academic and accessible
The first six works of the series combine academic quality with accessibility for a broad audience. The series’ ambition is to provide a comprehensive description of the field of Persian language and culture. The first six issues reflect this ambition. Five new issues are due to appear in 2011.
First 6 parts
1. Courtly Riddles
In this issue, Asghar Seyed-Gohrab, chief editor of the series, discusses the use of riddles, from the oldest literary sources all the way to modern literature. Here is an example:
What is it that has neither trousers nor shirt?
[Yet] you can place on her lap whatever you wish
Although she has no tongue, she speaks the truth
With a dragon, a scorpion upon her neck
Answer: weighing scales
2. Father of Persian Verse
Sassan Tabatabi considers the poems of Rudaki, the father of Persian poetry, who is to this day revered as a national poet in Afghanistan, Iran and Tadzhikistan
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3. One Word - Yak Kaleme
A unique translation of a 19th century text which argues that the Islam and Western forms of government are highly compatible.
4. Agreement Restrictions in Persian
Anousha Sedighi analyses Persian on the basis of the linguistic theories of Noam Chomsky. This has implications for the theory of Persian grammar.
5. Omar Khayyám’s Rubáiyát
This bibliographical publication of the poems of Persian poet Omar Khayyám is the first of its kind since 1929 and fills a lacuna in existing Khayyám studies.
6. Necklace of the Pleiades
This issue deals with Persian literature, culture and religion. The title is a metaphor for the stars which a poet is granted, like precious pearls, as a reward for his work. The topics in this volume vary from Persian Alexander romances to Sufism and the work of Salman Rushdie.
Persian cultural area
The Iranian Studies Series covers both modern-day and classical cultures of the Persian cultural area. Modern-day Persian language areas include: Iran, Afghanistan, Tadzhikistan and Central Asia. The classical societies which used Persian as a literary and cultural language were found in Anatolia, the Caucasus and the Indo-Pakistani sub-continent.