Forough Farrokhzad: Literary Biography; Forough, Golestan, and Untold Stories of a Love

"Forough Farrokhzad: Literary Biography with Unpublished Letters" is a new book by Farzaneh Milani about this prominent poet who died in a car accident at the age of thirty-two in the 1960s. While books published within Iran currently have a print run of about a thousand copies, the book "Forough Farrokhzad," published by Persian Circle in Canada, has a print run of three thousand copies and significant sales in various countries, becoming a notable event in the publishing world abroad. With the surrounding controversy of this book—sparked by the advance release of one of Forough's letters to Ebrahim Golestan on social media—it seemed we would be facing a book that would focus more on the subtext and peripheral aspects of Forough's life; however, contrary to this assumption, we are presented with a highly precise and calculated book that is the result of decades of the author's work and interviews with dozens of Forough's acquaintances, sharing various untold angles of the life of one of the most influential poets after Nima (and also the creator of one of the most acclaimed documentaries in the history of Iranian cinema: "The Black House"). This book is undoubtedly the most accurate and complete biography of her that is published without the constraints of censorship within Iran. This thick 550-page book has nothing to do with the usual fabrications and storytelling about the life of this controversial poet; instead, the author presents each finding in a fluent and easy language, divided into six sections—each named after a poem by Forough and featuring extensive footnotes. In the midst of the narrative, to substantiate her claims, she includes exclusive interviews with various individuals within the respective sections, resulting in a diverse book that, while referencing various events of each period, also discusses and analyzes Forough's poetry during that time, effectively linking the poet's verses to different life events and recording sometimes captivating conclusions. Therefore, the publication of Forough's letters to Ebrahim Golestan gains value and significance; it is not merely an exploration of her personal life but also aids in understanding and analyzing Forough's world and the poetry of her final years—her most mature works. Aside from the attractions and merits of the various sections of the book, its most important value lies in the candid and precise treatment of this personal relationship, which was foundational and highly influential in Forough's art, and the firsthand account of it: Ms. Milani finally persuaded Mr. Golestan to speak about Forough for the first time at the age of 94 and to publish her letters. Golestan's avoidance of any discussion about Forough, even in personal and private conversations, was a clear and indisputable avoidance that the author had observed over the years in Golestan's words and behavior. However, Ms. Milani's persistent efforts over the years have finally borne fruit, and Ebrahim Golestan has spoken in detail for the first time in this book about Forough and their personal relationship. Mr. Golestan told the author that Ms. Milani first asked him in the early 1980s to speak about Forough for her book; naturally, he declined. However, years later, as Mr. Golestan became more acquainted with her brother—Abbas Milani—and her, and saw her seriousness in her work, he agreed to provide the letters for publication and to interview her about Forough. In this thirty-page conversation, aside from tracing Golestan's influence on Forough's poetry—and Forough's influence on Golestan's short stories, which could itself be a subject for extensive research—Golestan fortunately speaks directly and explicitly about a rumor that arose simultaneously with the publication of this book regarding Forough's legal marriage to Golestan on social media; in response to Ms. Milani's question: "Did Forough not want to marry you?" he replies: "For the sake of living together, having a kind of public security, but the ideal of a shared life, never. If she ever said so—which I don't remember—I wouldn't have accepted. Not that I didn't want to live with her, but because once a person steps out of one category, it is foolish to want to try an equivalent or parallel category. I completely disagree with the conception of marriage. Marriage is a very terrible thing. Marriage is an economic contract made between two people; it has nothing to do with love, affection, and friendship." (Page 187) Golestan, while rejecting all stories about Forough being buried in Zahir al-Dowleh, states that he is the one who buys three graves there to bury Forough and reveals the secret of two other empty graves: one for himself and the other for Fakhri Golestan. Nevertheless, he did not attend Forough's funeral, but his subsequent statements reveal deep and untold pains regarding Forough's death that clarify the meaning of his profound silence—which lasted half a century: "I used to go there every day [to Forough's grave]. I am not that kind of person at all. One day—it was a holiday, it was Friday—like every day, I went to her grave. I came into Tajrish Square; I was just thinking. You wouldn't believe it; as I was coming from Tajrish Square, suddenly I found myself in Kashan. I realized that this cannot be; that she will not come back. If she ever existed in me, she is still in me. One day, I looked in the mirror and saw that I was crying; my face was soaked with tears..." (Page 197).