Event to highlight ‘Century of Literature by Iranian Women’

Moniru Ravanipor will be the featured speaker at “A Century of Literature by Iranian Women” scheduled for 7:15 p.m., Friday, Nov. 21, in the Cone University Center, McKnight Hall.

This event, part of International Education Week, will feature a short presentation on Iranian poets and writers, a poetry reading with live music, a panel discussion followed by a book signing and light refreshments.

For centuries the thought of literary tradition among Iranian women was suppressed. Since the mid-19th century a number of pioneering women have defied that tradition and have gone on to produce poetry and novels of the highest quality. Many of them have paid a significant prize for their courage with accusations of immorality, promiscuity, heresy and even lunacy. The Nov. 21 event will trace the history of Iranian women writers of poetry and fiction, in the context of educational and cultural practices through both a presentation and a discussion panel with acclaimed Iranian women writers.

Ravanipor, a prolific Iranian writer of fiction, will be a featured presenter. Considered one of the most stylistically revolutionary voices in Persian literature today, she has written a collection of novels, short stories, children works, plays and screenplays.