[11/11/25] Shamlou, Ahmad / Talebu, Niloufar (tr.): Elegies of the Earth

World Poetry, paperback

Publication Date: November 11, 2025

Publisher Marketing: A sweeping centennial edition of Iran’s iconic twentieth-century poet of liberty, whose work shaped modern Persian poetry. Known for his political engagement and deep humanism, and his pivotal role in Persian poetry’s modernist turn toward free verse, Ahmad Shamlou (1925–2000) crafted poems that carried both lyrical intimacy and cultural force. A central, defiant voice in Iran’s modern literary history, Shamlou championed the power of poetry as an instrument of liberation. His work, long suppressed in his homeland, remains urgent for readers everywhere confronting censorship, exile, and erasure. This bilingual edition honors Shamlou’s centennial with the most expansive selection of his poetry to date in English, encompassing his wide thematic range: from fierce protest to intimate love, mythic storytelling to existential reflection. Niloufar Talebi’s vibrant translations and deeply researched commentary shine new light on Shamlou’s legacy and his relevance today.

"A poet of liberty and defiance, Ahmad Shamlou reimagined the role of language, giving voice to both personal longing and public resistance. His work stands as a testament to poetry’s power to confront tyranny, celebrate human dignity, and break free from formal bounds.” —DUNYA MIKHAIL

“With her judicious selection and elegant translations, Talebi introduces Anglophone readers to the ‘towering vision’ of Iranian modernist Ahmad Shamlou, whose radical free verse reshaped twentieth-century Persian poetry. Like Giuseppe Ungaretti, Shamlou looked abroad to the French surrealists and symbolists, departed from the classical forms of his own tradition, and created new formal and tonal possibilities. Like Mahmoud Darwish, he invested language with an ethical urgency, saw poetry as an act of resistance, and became the conscience of a nation.” —GEOFFREY BROCK

“After decades of work, Shamlou reached such an undeniable stature that neither praise nor criticism could alter his place in history. The greatest tribute I can offer this giant is not commentary, but simply to recite one of his poems.” —ABBAS KIAROSTAMI

"Shamlou’s voice, at once elevated and vernacular, classical and modern, is notoriously difficult to render into English. Yet Talebi’s years of deep engagement with Shamlou’s poetry breathe “fresh air” into the poems of this iconoclastic, masculine author. Her thoughtful selection is further enhanced by judicious notes and references that deepen the reader’s understanding." —KAVEH BASSIRI

“With the death of Ahmad Shamlou … Iran has not only lost its greatest contemporary poet but also its most potent symbol of intellectual conscience against tyranny and repression.” —THE GUARDIAN