Shahriar Mandanipour: Don’t Judge Iran by its Government

Because of his controversial novel, Censoring an Iranian Love Story, Shahriar Mandanipour can’t return to Iran, his native country.

The book, his first translated into English, braids together the story of a writer attempting to pen a romance acceptable to the censors and the tale of two young lovers trying to connect in a country where being together could cost them their lives.

Mandanipour read at City of Asylum/Pittsburgh in November 2010. In this video clip, he answers questions from the audience and discusses the inherent difficulties translating from Farsi to English, the history of Persian literature, and some misconceptions regarding Iran’s literary culture.

For more on this writer, read Elizabeth Hoover’s interview with Shahriar Mandanipour.