June 17, 2009
From Harriet:
Poetry still plays an integral part in Iranian life, even in the midst of the protests and chaos. In a widely circulated blog post out of Tehran, a protester notes:
“Placards that people carried were different; from poems by the national poet Ahmad Shamlu to light-hearted slogans against Ahmadinejad. Examples include: ‘To slaughter us/ why did you need to invite us / to such an elegant party’ (Poem by Shamlu). ‘Hello! Hello! 999? / Our votes were stolen’ or ‘The Miracle of the Third Millennium: 2 x 2 = 24 millions’ (alluding to the claim by Government that Ahmadinejad obtained 24 million votes), ‘Where is my vote?’, ‘Give me back my vote’ and many others.”
Can you imagine protesters in Florida after the 2000 carrying placards with quotes from Mary Oliver? Billy Collins? John Ashbery?
Clearly, poetry and politics intersect differently over there.
Posted in: Art & Life & Politics 
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