TEHRAN – A collection of works by contemporary Persian poet Saber Sadipur has been published in Turkish.

Imgenin Çocuklari, a major publisher based in Istanbul, has released the book “Eighth Note: Silence” (“Sekizinci Nota: Suskunluk”) translated by Donya Mirzai.

An Arabic translation of Sadipur’s poetry by Musa Bidaj has recently been published in Cairo under the title of “Fish Have Been Seasick”.

“Following the flood of Persian translations of foreign poets in Iran, we will regard the translation of Persian poems as an omen of good fortune,” Sadipur has said.   

“It is significant to familiarize the world with the potentials of Iran’s contemporary poetry, and over the past years, many efforts have been made to render works by Iranian poets into other languages, although some poets have been ignored due to political considerations,” he added.

“By the translation of Persian poetry, we want to tell the world that modern Persian poetry still enjoys a strong background and in its modernity, the local perspective along with a cosmopolitan outlook on life are broadly comparable to works by great poets of the world and in some way, it is even more advanced,” stated Sadipur while calling for more support for poets and young translators.

He has recently completed his latest collection “Longing of Olive”, which will soon be published by Fasle Panjom.

Over the past few years, a number of Turkish publishers have shown an interest in works by Iranian writers, especially those who are active in children’s literature. 

Muhenna, a publishing house for young adults in Istanbul, has released a Turkish translation of Iranian writer Mohammad Mirkiani’s book “Our Story Becomes a Fairy Tale” under the title of “Hikayemiz Masal Oldu”.

Published in ten volumes, the book contains a large collection of ancient stories of Persian sayings.

Demavend, another publisher in Istanbul, has also made great efforts to introduce modern Iranian literature to Turkish readers. 

“Contemporary Iranian Children’s Poetry” (Cagdas Iran Cocuk Siiri) was released by the publisher this year.

The book has been authored by Melek Gedic, a research assistant at the Department of Persian Language and Literature of Ardahan University.

Photo: Front cover of the Turkish translation of Persian poet Saber Sadipur’s collection “Eighth Note: Silence”.

MMS/YAW