TEHRAN – Iranian writer Kamal Shafiei has said that his latest two poetry collections feature concerns of the teenage years.

The Gooya House of Culture and Art has recently released his new collection, “If Trees Could Walk”.

“The collection contains 30 new poems and a selection of works I had composed long ago,” Shafiei told the Persian service of Honaronline on Monday.

“I’ve tried to feature the teenage years as they seem and talk about their concerns,” he added.

Shafiei called the teenage years the most important period of life “because children begin seeking independence and shape their social characters in this period.”

“The teenage years are also the most sensitive period of everyone’s life. They need an atmosphere to care about and respect them,” he added.    

He noted, “Cultural products, especially those in literature and poetry created for an audience of young adults, should not deem [teenagers] as people who have no choice, because the teen years are the period of choices.”      

“Poetry for young adults should lead them toward creative thought and raise questions in their minds. We see that the characteristics of the teen years in our country are changing, and poets should keep up with these changes, otherwise, their works will not be welcomed by the young adults,” he stated.     

Shafiei’s other series “Thousand Times More” and “First Apples of the Yard” will soon be published by Madreseh Publications and the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) respectively.

He is currently working on a book that will provide a comparative study of Iranian and foreign novels. He said that novelists are the target audience of this study, which will be published in the near future.

He is the composer of “In the Silence of Sands”, a poetry collection for young adults, which has been published by the IIDCYA.

The institute also published the Braille version of these books last summer. 

Photo: Front cover of Iranian writer Kamal Shafiei’s poetry collection “In the Silence of Sands”.

MMS/YAW