The Mirror of My Heart: A Thousand Years of Persian Poetry by Women

The Mirror of My Heart presents a millennium of Persian poetry written by women, translated into English by scholar Dick Davis. This collection spans from the 9th century to the present day, featuring work from both renowned and lesser-known female Persian poets. The anthology includes biographical information about each poet alongside their verses, providing historical and cultural context for their work. Many of these poems appear in English translation for the first time, making previously inaccessible works available to a broader audience. The collection covers diverse themes including love, loss, politics, and daily life, with styles ranging from traditional Persian forms to modern free verse. The translations maintain the formal elements of Persian poetry while rendering the meaning accessible to English readers. The work stands as both a literary achievement and a cultural document, revealing how Persian women poets across the centuries expressed their experiences and perspectives through verse. These poems challenge common assumptions about women's voices in Islamic societies and demonstrate the enduring power of artistic expression.

Readers highlight this as a rare window into Persian women's poetry spanning the 8th to 20th centuries. Many reviewers note they were unaware of this deep tradition of female Persian poets before encountering the book. Likes: - Dual language presentation with both English and Persian text - Biographical details provided for each poet - Quality of Dick Davis's translations - Organization by chronological period Dislikes: - Some translations lose the musicality of the original Persian - A few readers wanted more historical/cultural context - Limited selections from certain time periods Ratings: Goodreads: 4.35/5 (59 ratings) Amazon: 4.7/5 (23 ratings) Notable reader comment: "The translations capture meaning but can't recreate the rhyme schemes that make Persian poetry so powerful in its original form. Still worth reading to discover these overlooked voices." - Goodreads reviewer The book earned the 2020 World Literature Today Notable Translation prize.

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📚 Though Persian poetry has a rich history spanning over a millennium, women's contributions were often deliberately erased or attributed to male poets. 🖋️ Dick Davis, the translator, is considered one of the world's leading scholars of medieval Persian literature and has translated more than a dozen Persian works into English. 🌹 Many of the female poets featured in the collection wrote under male pseudonyms or used ambiguous pen names to have their work taken seriously. 👑 The earliest poet in the collection is Rabe'eh Qozdari, who lived in the 10th century and was reportedly executed by her brother for writing love poetry deemed inappropriate for a woman. 📖 The anthology includes works from both well-known poets like Forugh Farrokhzad and obscure voices discovered in manuscript margins and personal diaries, spanning from 950 CE to the present day.