Persian Cultural Foundation
proudly presents...

Simin Behbahani
Simin Behbahani (Siminbar Khalili) was born in 1927 in Tehran, Iran, of literary parents. Her father, Abbas Khalili, writer and newspaper editor, had dozens of publications to his credit. Her mother, Fakhr Ozma Arghoon (Fakhr Adel Khalatbari), was a noted feminist, teacher, writer, newspaper editor, and poet.Simin began writing poetry at the age of fourteen and published her first poem at the same age. She used the "char pareh" style of Nima, a renowned poet of Persian history, and subsequently, turns to "ghazal", a free flowing, and poetic style similar to the Western "sonnet". She contributed to a historic development in the form of the "ghazal", as she added theatrical subjects and daily events and conversations into this style of poetry. The “ghazals” of Simin Behbahani have a unique style, which defines her as one of a kind and well-distinguished in her style of poetry. Simin Behbahani has expanded the range of traditional Persian verse forms and produced some of the most significant works of Persian literature in the twentieth century. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature in 1997. She was also awarded a Human Rights Watch-Hellman/ Hammet grant in 1998, and similarly, in 1999, the Carl von Ossietzky Medal for her struggles for freedom of expression in Iran.

Publications

• Setare Shekasteh, majmu’eh ye shi’r and two stories, 1951
• Chelcheragh: majmu`eh-ye shi`r, Tehran, 1956
• Rastakhiz: majmu`eh-ye shi`r, Tehran, 1963
• Marmar, Tehran, 1963
• Darvazeh’ha-ye noor: majmu`eh-ye shi`r, ed. Jaleh Naziri,Tehran, 1971
• Khatti ze sur`at va az atash: majmu`eh-ye ghazal, Tehtran, 1973
• Guzeneh-e ash`ar, Tehran, 1988
• Guft va Shunoode Hamid Mosadegh va Simin Behbahani, Nasser Hariri, 1989
• On mard, mard-e hamraham Tehran, 1991
• Dasht-e arzhan Tehran, 1991
• Jay-e pa: majmu`eh-ye shi`r, 1325-1335 (Tehran: Zavvar, 1991).
• Kaghazin Jamah San Jose, Calif., 1992
• Shaeran-e Emrooz-e Farance, Pierre De Boisdeffre, Tehran, 1993
• Kowli va Nameh va Eshgh, Tehran, 1993
• Simin Behbahani Dar Rah-e Gostaresh va Afarinensh-e Owzan-e Tazeh, Tehran, 1993
• Ashegtar az Hameesh Bekhan, Tehran, 1994
• Negareh-ye golgoon, kaghazin jamah’ha va afzoodeh’ha, Los Angeles, 1998.
• Yad-e ba`zi nafarat Tehran, 1999
• Kelid va Khanjar, Gheseha va Ghoseha, Tehran, 2000
• Simin Behbahani, majmu`eh-ye shi`r, Los Angeles, 2003

Works on Simin Behbahani

• Darbarah-'i hunar va adabiyat: guft va shinudi ba Simin Bihbihani, Hamid Musaddiq, Author: Nasser Hariri, 1989
• Nimeye Digar: Special Issue on Simin Behbahani, Guest editor Farzaneh Milani, 1993
• Simin Bihbahani: dar rah-i gustarish va afarinish-i awzan-i tazah, Author: Nusratollah Nooh
• Bargi az kitab-i`ishq didar ba Simin Bihbihani, Author: Nasser Zeraati, Simin Behbahani, 1997
• A cup of sin: selected poems of Simin Behbahani, Translated by; Farzaneh Milani, Kaveh Safa, 1999
• Tarannum-e ghazal: Bar’resi-i zindegi va asar-e Simin Bihbihani, Author: Kamyar Abidi, 2000
• Gahvarah-e sabz-e afra: zendagi va she`r-e Simin Bihbihani, Author: Ahmad Aboomahbub, 2003
• Dubarah misazamat vatan, Sound Recording with Darioush, Los Angeles, 2003
• Zani ba damani shi`r: Jashn’namah-e Simin Behbahani, Author: Ali Dehbashi, 2004

SPONSORS

UCLA, Iranian Studies, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures | UC Berkeley, Near Eastern Studies Department, Iranian Studies | International Society of Iranian Studies | Anjoman Sokhan, Northern California | Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies at Stanford University | Iran Democracy project at Hoover Institution | University of Virginia, Studies in Women and Gender, Asian and Middle Eastern | Languages and Cultures | Iranian Mothers for Freedom | Asia Society | Iranian American Society of New York | Shiraz University School of Medicine Alumni Association | Persian Cultural & Humanitarian Association | University of Chicago | University of Toronto, Toronto Initiative for Iranian Studies and the Department of Historical Studies-UTM, Canada | McGill University, Montreal |The Iranian Literate Society of Montreal

SPECIAL THANKS TO

Radio 670 AM, KIRN | Hossein Hejazi | Radio Sedaye Iran, KRSI | Alireza Morovati | Sima Chakamian | Pari Amini| Homa Mahmoudi | Latifeh Haghighi | Hossein Ziai | Jaleh Pirnazar | Hamid and Christina Moghadam | Abbas Milani | Sadreddin Elahi | Anjoman Sokhan | Pezhvah Monthly | Shahbaz Taheri | Iraniaca Gala Committee | Maryam Rahimian | Majid Rahimian | Elahe Ensani | Office of The Mayor, City and County of San Francisco | Honorable Ross Mirkarimi, Supervisor, City and County of San Francisco | Hurian Gallery in San Farncisco | Faramarz Khodayari | Iranian Mothers for Freedom | Sima Dabirashtiani | Franklin Lewis | Hasan Rashedi | Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi| Iranian Literate Society of Montreal, Mohammad Fazel