Recite in the Name of the Red Rose: Poetic Sacred Making in Twentieth-century Iran (Studies in Comparative Religion) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Though manifested in texts, monuments, or rituals that seem reified, God / the sacred (henceforth referred to as the sacred when appropriate) is a vibrant..." (more)
Key Phrases: dar ayinih, scriptural rhythm, uncompromising categories, Abu Sa'id, Omar Khayyám, The Footsteps of Water (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a brilliant, lucid, and highly original study of the religious aspects of modern Persian literature. It is a break-through, not only in the sense that it creates a genuine cross-disciplinary fusion of religious studies and literary criticism, but also in the way that it brings about a dramatic revision of how we understand Persian literature in general." -- Carl W. Ernst

Product Description

Recite the Name of the Red Rose introduces Western readers to constructions of the sacred in twentieth-century Iranian poetry. Sifting through the lives and writings of modern and classical poets, Fatemeh Keshavarz provides a systematic examination of the array of religious impulses in recent Persian verse. Viewing poetry as the site of the emergence of the self and the sacred, she confirms that sanctification is not static in its forms but continuously in flux and that the poetic modes used to articulate the sanctified are equally fluid. Keshevarz begins by introducing the core concepts that define and detach religion and secularity in contemporary Iranian society. By thoroughly discussing the nature of classical Persian poetry she makes clear that expressions of the sacred in verse have been open to negotiation and change even in the premodern period. In Iran’s modern poetic landscape however, Keshavarz uncovers many new patterns of expressing the sacred. In individual chapters on the writings of Forugh Farrokhzad (1935–1967), Sohrab Sepehri (1928–1981), and Ahmad Shamlu (1925–2000), she discusses the paradigmatic ways prominent poets of the twentieth century have related to the sacred in a nation forging its vision of modernity. While most scholars perceive current Iranian culture to be sharply divided between literalist conservatives and secular progressives, Keshavarz identifies provocative shades of spiritual expression less rigidly defined and hence neglected by the established critical tradition. Bringing such expression to the fore of scholarly attention, her study invites a more nuanced appreciation of the crosscurrents of religion and literature in recent Middle Eastern culture.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 193 pages
• Publisher: University of South Carolina Press (April 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570036225
• ISBN-13: 978-1570036224
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,897,949 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)