Introducing New Books by Iranian American Authors
Elegies of the Earth: Selected Poems
By Ahmad Shamlou
Translated from Persian by Niloufar Talebi
Elegies of the Earth is a sweeping centennial edition of Iran’s iconic twentieth-century poet of liberty, whose work shaped modern Persian poetry.
Known for his political engagement and deep humanism, and his pivotal role in Persian poetry’s modernist turn toward free verse, Ahmad Shamlou (1925–2000) crafted poems that carried both lyrical intimacy and cultural force. A central, defiant voice in Iran’s modern literary history, Shamlou championed the power of poetry as an instrument of liberation. His work, long suppressed in his homeland, remains urgent for readers everywhere confronting censorship, exile, and erasure. This bilingual edition honors Shamlou’s centennial with the most expansive selection of his poetry to date in English, encompassing his wide thematic range: from fierce protest to intimate love, mythic storytelling to existential reflection.
Niloufar Talebi’s vibrant translations and deeply researched commentary shine new light on Shamlou’s legacy and his relevance today. An author, translator, and interdisciplinary artist, she has spent most of the past two decades working on projects related to Shamlou’s work. Elegies of the Earth is part of this suite of projects that includes the memoir Self-Portrait in Bloom (l’Aleph), an opera (Abraham in Flames, with composer A. Vrebalov), the video-poem Funeral Address, and a TEDx Talk. Talebi is the editor and translator of Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians Around the World (North Atlantic Books), and her multimedia projects include ICARUS/RISE, The Persian Rite of Spring, Fire Angels, The Plentiful Peach, and Epiphany. Talebi is a Fulbright Scholar, and the recipient of translation prizes including a National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship for her translations of Shamlou’s poetry.
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Say Something, Poupeh Babaee!
A Graphic Novel by Dr. Haleh Massey
Illustrated by Ghazal Qaderi
Poupeh Babaee is an Iranian girl sent to live with her relatives in the United States. Although Poupeh understands and speaks English, the stress of entering a new school in a foreign land renders her mute, and she is diagnosed with selective mutism. Worse yet, a travel ban—which labels Iran a “dangerous country”—has barred her parents from entering the U.S. Poupeh must now overcome her selective mutism and advocate for her parents during an interview with an embassy consular officer if she ever wants to see them again.
Uplifting and engaging, Say Something, Poupeh Babaee! depicts the healing power of therapy, friendship, and familial bonds. This is a message of hope to all the awkward, overwhelmed immigrant children struggling to find acceptance.
The author, Dr. Haleh Massey, is a clinical psychologist and a marriage and family therapist with almost two decades of experience working with children and their families. She met the love of her life at a non-profit agency in the big, bad city, then returned to the suburbs where she and her husband run a private practice and raise two children.
Seeing Stars: A Mashad Family Novel
By Candice Jalili
In this story about a Persian social media family based in Los Angeles, author Candice Jalili—writer and social media manager at Elite Daily—brings a mix of her experience behind the scenes in media and a love of celebrity tabloids to the young adult space in Seeing Stars. A dash of the Kardashians and My Date With The President’s Daughter, the novel is a laugh-out-loud, larger-than-life YA contemporary that brings reality TV down to earth. Playing off a delicious love triangle and flipping the celebrity dating normal person trope on its head, Jalili’s sophomore novel will capture fans of both adult and young adult novels as an ode to the complicated stars of reality television.
Fans of The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy will delight in this love triangle, and root for Mona every step of the way. Jalili’s debut novel was called “a candy bar of a book readers will want to devour in one sitting” (School Library Journal), and her latest is just as fun and delightful. Filled with Hollywood glitz, glamour, and the fake dating trope, Seeing Stars is the young adult contemporary romance for shelves this fall.
Jalili is an Iranian American writer whose work has appeared in Cosmopolitan, The Cut, Rolling Stone, Elite Daily, and more. Finding Famous: A Mashad Family Novel is her YA debut. Candice lives in New York City with her husband, where she is a convenient walk away from her cousins and childhood best friend. She grew up in the Bay Area and spends hours of her days FaceTiming her parents there. You can find her on Instagram @CandiceJalili and online at www.CandiceJalili.com.
The information presented here is selected from promotional texts provided by the publishers.
