From Prophets of Doom to Chroniclers of Gloom (Bibliotheca Iranica: Literature) (Bibliotheca Iranica: Literature, 16)

This book is an examination of modern Persian literature from its inception in the first decade of the 20th century to the present from a variety of perspectives, including within the context of the sociopolitical events and upheavals in the past 120 years as well as the developments and changes in Persian poetry, prose fiction, and drama. After a survey of the major sociopolitical events and currents that provide the background to the inception and development of modernist Persian literature, Ghanoonparvar analyzes Persian poetry and prose fiction in terms of the purported role of the literary artist as a prophet\\\-like visionary figure, the question of sociopolitical commitment, issues regarding literary genre and form and their relevance to content, literary ambiguity, censorship, and literary prophecy. While the first seven chapters are a revised and updated study that had appeared in Prophets of Doom published in 1984, two other chapters, one examining Persian literature since the 1978\\\-79 Islamic Revolution in Iran and another on modern Persian drama since its beginning in the late 19th century, have been added to that volume. The bibliography contains a comprehensive list of modern Persian literature in English translation.