Let Me Tell You Where I've Been

Until recently, Iranian literature has overwhelmingly been the domain of men. But in the twenty seven years since the Iranian revolution, women both in Iran and in the diaspora have written and published in unprecedented numbers. The new hybrid cultures of Iranian diaspora writers has given way to a uniquely feminine literary voice. ""Let Me Tell You Where I've Been"", the first anthology of writing by women of the Iranian diaspora, is an extensive collection of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction that explores through literature the influences of history, revolution, war, exile, and immigration. The work in this collection uncovers an emerging multicultural generation of female sensibility and eloquence. Unlike the tired, familiar images of Iran in the media, these women write about the complicated spaces between cultures, and capture a unique and still emerging literature. They challenge both the patriarchal literary tradition of Iran and the singular portrayals in the West of Iranian women as veiled, silent, and lacking in agency. Featuring over one hundred selections (two-thirds of which have never been published before) from over fifty contributors - including such well-known writers as Susan Atefat-Peckham, Tara Bahrampour, Firoozeh Dumas, Azadeh Moaveni, and Farnoosh Moshiri - the collection represents a substantial cross section of this unique multicultural community. Organized around six general themes, including home and away, family and tradition, gender, politics, love, and silence, ""Let Me Tell You Where I've Been"" creates a rich conversation about Iran, Iranian culture, the Persian and English languages, and the dual identities of its authors. In a time when Iran is cited daily in the news and political rhetoric is at an all time high, this collection offers a complex and humanizing literary representation. These writers bring their individual and collective vision and offer a powerful new voice to the international literary scene.

PERSIS KARIM was born in the United States to an Iranian father and a French mother. She is an associate professor of English and Comparative Literature at San Jose State University in California and coeditor of A World Between: Poems, Short Stories, and Essays by Iranian-Americans. AL YOUNG is the poet laureate of California. Young has a long list of publications ranging from novels and poetry collections to musical memoirs and screenplays.