Host: Farzaneh Milani Guests: Scheherazade, Tahereh Qorratolain, Forough Farrokhzad, Simin Behbahani, and Mahmoud and Zeynab Milani. Music: Elaheh Naz Dinner Menu: Mirza Ghasemi and Plum Stew. This week's host is Farzaneh Milani, a writer and professor of Persian literature and women's studies at the University of Virginia in America. Her latest book is a biography of Forough Farrokhzad, particularly noted for the publication of several unpublished love letters from Forough to Ebrahim Golestan. Milani moved to the USA in 1988 and earned her PhD in comparative literature from California State University, Los Angeles. She has conducted extensive research on women's movements in Iran and published two well-known books in English: 'Veil and Pen: The Emergence of the Voices of Iranian Women Writers' and 'Pen Instead of Sword: Iranian Women Writers and the Freedom Movement.' Milani has also worked to introduce Persian poetry to English speakers and translated a selection of Simin Behbahani's poems titled 'A Cup of Sin.' Milani lives in Virginia, and I had a phone conversation with her.
Farzaneh Milani: Thank you very much for participating in the host program. If possible, please tell us which five figures you would like to invite for dinner?
Milani: Hello to you, Mr. Saba, and dear listeners of the host program. Before I present my guest list, let me say a few words about the host program. If I am not mistaken, you have aired 67 host programs to date. If we look at all these 67 programs, we can see it as a clear mirror of Iranian culture. Of the 338 guests invited, the highest group consists of Iranian poets and writers. It is truly astonishing that 20% of all invited guests are Iranian poets and writers. Now, if we go from the whole to the part and focus on individuals rather than groups, the highest invitation has been received by Mohammad Mossadegh, followed by Ferdowsi, Hafez, Rumi, and Forough Farrokhzad.
It is interesting, Mr. Saba, that Forough Farrokhzad said years ago that 'only the voice remains.' Politicians come and go, but the good name of our writers, poets, and artists is dear and enduring for all of us.
As for my guest list, my first guest is Scheherazade, followed by Tahereh Qorratolain, Forough Farrokhzad, Simin Behbahani, and with your permission, I invited a couple, my parents Mahmoud and Zeynab Milani.
Saba: It is wonderful that you invited your parents. Another good thing you did is that all your other guests are women, who are underrepresented in this program. As you studied, unfortunately, very few women are invited, and I am very happy that you did this.
Milani: If you agree, I would like to play 'Elaheh Naz' sung by the late Benan. My childhood in Iran was truly filled with the warm and velvety voice of Gholamhossein Banan.
Saba: One of the most beautiful Persian songs. I completely agree with you. Now, if we can return to the guests you invited. You mentioned Scheherazade first.
Milani: Scheherazade: The narrator of the tales of One Thousand and One Nights. The reason for the invitation: I believe Scheherazade had a completely novel and different message and never resorted to violence. She saw the solution to the crisis in society in avoiding violence. The main framework of One Thousand and One Nights is about a king who discovers the betrayal of his beloved queen and, after killing her and her lover, swears never to let a woman betray him again. Every night he sleeps with a virgin girl, and in the early morning, he kills that innocent girl. But eventually, after a series of serial murders of innocent girls, a lion-hearted woman named Scheherazade, who was not in danger herself, decides to put herself in danger and, with her sweet words and clever tales, seeks to heal the king.
Saba: You surely know that one of the famous quotes in Persian is that we say the cat should be killed at the wedding. Scheherazade entered a wedding chamber, but instead of bringing a dagger, she brought her words. She brought her sweet stories with her. And with patience, she endeavored to change the structure of the all-powerful monarchy. We know that after two years and nine months, she succeeded in freeing the king, who had become a serial killer, from his rage and disgust, and also saved the innocent girls of the city from the executioner's sword.
Milani: The importance of Scheherazade for you is that she was able to prevent a massacre with the power of her words. Do you want to emphasize the power of words?
Milani: Yes, the power of words and her belief that violence breeds more violence. She did not see the solution to the crises in her society in bloodshed or violence. Instead, she saw the solution in avoiding violence.
Saba: Your second guest is Tahereh Qorratolain. Please explain your interest in her and her significance in our history.
Milani: Tahereh Qorratolain (1230-1268 AH): Iranian poet and writer. Works: Articles in the book 'Zohour al-Haqq' and writings in 'Kawakib al-Durriyyah.' Reason for the invitation: I see Tahereh as a pioneer and the initiator of the women's movement in Iran. Before her, Iran was divided into two spaces: the inner and outer, the sacred and the profane, and Qorratolain did not accept this boundary and entered a completely male domain. What she did in 1848 in Badasht was groundbreaking. It is interesting to note that her work coincided with the beginning of the women's movement in the West. You know that at the same time, a women's gathering was held in Seneca Falls in upstate New York, which many historians consider the start of the women's movement in the world. But a few weeks before the Seneca Falls gathering, this lion-hearted woman removed her veil and brought the feminine voice into a completely male domain. Before Qorratolain, Iran was symbolically divided into two spaces, and she did not accept this boundary and entered a completely male domain. Ultimately, Qorratolain lost her life for her bravery. How did Tahereh die? As far as I know, she was suffocated and thrown into a well. You know that suffocation in Persian has complex meanings, one of which is silencing someone's voice. It is interesting that a woman who was prohibited from being heard and present, and is still banned from writing in her own country, was killed by suffocation.
Milani: Now let’s move on to your third guest, Forough Farrokhzad, the great poet of our country. You recently wrote an important book about her. Could you tell us about Forough?
Milani: Forough Farrokhzad (1313-1345 SH): Iranian poet and documentary filmmaker. Works: 'This House is Black' (documentary), 'Rebellion,' 'Another Birth,' 'Let’s Believe in the Beginning of the Cold Season.' Reason for the invitation: Forough Farrokhzad is a new phenomenon in contemporary Persian literature and perhaps in world literature. She not only defied centuries of male-dominated language and perspective but also unveiled the male beloved from a woman's viewpoint for the first time in over a thousand years of literature, which is rightfully a source of pride. I do not think any man has been so sought after in Persian literature or had poetry written about his love in this way before Forough Farrokhzad. The characteristics of Forough Farrokhzad are numerous, and each is extraordinarily interesting in its own right. For example, in a culture that has struggled with lying and concealment since the time of Zoroaster, she tried as much as she could to speak the truth and interestingly believed that hearing the truth was her right. Additionally, Farrokhzad fought for individual freedom, not collective freedom, and the independence of people, both women and men. For a brief 13-year period, she was able to forever change the face of Persian literature.
Saba: Your fourth guest is Simin Behbahani, who was also one of the great contemporary poets who passed away a few years ago.
Milani: Simin Behbahani (1306-1393 SH): Contemporary Iranian ghazal poet. Works: 'Broken Three-String,' 'Resurrection,' 'Dast-e Arjan,' 'Read More Than Ever,' and other works. Reason for the invitation: I loved Ms. Behbahani like a mother, and she accepted me as her child. The more I got to know her, the more I fell in love with her. She was truly a noble and exalted person and a first-class poet. Let me first say that I had the honor of truly loving Ms. Behbahani like my own mother, and she had shown me that kindness in return by accepting me as her child. The more I got to know Ms. Behbahani, the more I fell in love with her. She was truly a noble and exalted person and a first-class poet. For me, who has been away from my homeland Iran for fifty years, it was interesting and beautiful to see a liberated Iranian. And her beautiful poem that says, 'I will rebuild you, my homeland,' which you know Mr. Obama read the translation of and included in one of his messages, Behbahani wanted to rebuild that country and land that she loved dearly from the bricks of her own soul. Like my other guests tonight, Ms. Behbahani never tolerated violence and said that my pen is mightier than any sword.
Saba: Now, Ms. Milani, since you mentioned that you knew Ms. Behbahani closely, how do they behave as a personality when they come to your dinner, aside from their poetry?
Milani: Even in conditions when, like in the late years of her life, she was not well, she always had very interesting and excellent jokes and was truly the life of the party.
Saba: Your last guests are your parents.
Milani: Mahmoud and Zeynab Milani: Farzaneh Milani's parents. Reason for the invitation: I invited my parents as representatives of all Iranian mothers and fathers who have not spared any love or sacrifice for their children's education over the past hundred years. I invited my parents as representatives of all Iranian mothers and fathers who have not spared any love or sacrifice for their children's education over the past hundred years. Of course, I am eager to see them and will kiss their hands and thank them. My parents, like other Iranian parents, truly put everything they had, both financially and emotionally, into their children's education. I will never forget my father's saying that he would sell even the carpet under his feet for the education of his five children, and he really did so. My mother was also not one to spare any effort or sacrifice for her children to achieve higher education.
Saba: Now, for your parents, who you said worked hard for your education and surely fed you, what food will you prepare for them and your other four guests that will please everyone?
Milani: Since I know what two of my guests' favorite foods are, I decided to cook their favorite dishes, and since I do not know what the favorite foods of the others are, and I do not know if Scheherazade is a vegetarian or not, I will prepare a vegetarian dish alongside the plum stew I want to make.
Saba: Do you usually have time to cook?
Milani: I think one of the most beautiful arts and one of the arts that gives the highest pleasures to a person is the art of cooking, and I enjoy cooking and do it regularly.
Saba: Very well. Surely the guests will enjoy your cooking, and they will listen to the velvety voice of Benan singing 'Elaheh Naz.' Now, what will the discussion be about at the dinner table?
Milani: I think everyone will enjoy this Mirza Ghasemi, which is my appetizer, and perhaps...