Ahmad Shamlou - Elegies of the Earth
Ahmad Shamlou
Elegies of the Earth: Selected Poems
Translated from Persian by
NILOUFAR TALEBI
Bilingual Edition
November 4, 2025
BIOS
One of the most influential cultural figures of Iran in the latter half of the twentieth-century AHMAD SHAMLOU (1925–2000) authored more than 70 books, including 17 volumes of poetry. Sometimes known by his pen name, Alef Bamdad, Shamlou’s innovations brought on a transition from classical forms to free verse and made him a flag-bearer of the Iranian vanguard, which included the poet Forugh Farrokhzad. Shamlou’s synthesis of Eastern and Western poetic traditions and high and low styles democratized the literary mode without simplifying it. Championing the “everyman,” Shamlou’s work reflects his deep engagement with social issues and the human condition.
NILOUFAR TALEBI is an author, translator, and interdisciplinary artist. She has spent most of the past two decades working on projects related to Ahmad Shamlou. Elegies of the Earth is part of this suite of projects that includes the memoir, Self-Portrait in Bloom (l’Aleph), an opera (Abraham in Flames, with composer A. Vrebalov), the video-poem Funeral Address, and a TEDx Talk. Talebi is the editor and translator of Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians Around the World (North Atlantic Books), and her multimedia projects include ICARUS/RISE, The Persian Rite of Spring, Fire Angels, The Plentiful Peach, and Epiphany. Talebi is a Fulbright Scholar, and the recipient of translation prizes including a National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship for her translations of Shamlou’s poetry.
Ahmad Shamlou
Elegies of the Earth: Selected Poems
Translated from Persian by
NILOUFAR TALEBI
A sweeping centennial edition of Iran’s iconic twentieth-century poet of liberty, whose work shaped modern Persian poetry.
Known for his political engagement and deep humanism, and his pivotal role in Persian poetry’s modernist turn toward free verse, Ahmad Shamlou (1925–2000) crafted poems that carried both lyrical intimacy and cultural force. A central, defiant voice in Iran’s modern literary history, Shamlou championed the power of poetry as an instrument of liberation. His work, long suppressed in his homeland, remains urgent for readers everywhere confronting censorship, exile, and erasure. This bilingual edition honors Shamlou’s centennial with the most expansive selection of his poetry to date in English, encompassing his wide thematic range: from fierce protest to intimate love, mythic storytelling to existential reflection. Niloufar Talebi’s vibrant translations and deeply researched commentary shine new light on Shamlou’s legacy and his relevance today.
BIOS
One of the most influential cultural figures of Iran in the latter half of the twentieth-century AHMAD SHAMLOU (1925–2000) authored more than 70 books, including 17 volumes of poetry. Sometimes known by his pen name, Alef Bamdad, Shamlou’s innovations brought on a transition from classical forms to free verse and made him a flag-bearer of the Iranian vanguard, which included the poet Forugh Farrokhzad. Shamlou’s synthesis of Eastern and Western poetic traditions and high and low styles democratized the literary mode without simplifying it. Championing the “everyman,” Shamlou’s work reflects his deep engagement with social issues and the human condition.
NILOUFAR TALEBI is an author, translator, and interdisciplinary artist. She has spent most of the past two decades working on projects related to Ahmad Shamlou. Elegies of the Earth is part of this suite of projects that includes the memoir, Self-Portrait in Bloom (l’Aleph), an opera (Abraham in Flames, with composer A. Vrebalov), the video-poem Funeral Address, and a TEDx Talk. Talebi is the editor and translator of Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians Around the World (North Atlantic Books), and her multimedia projects include ICARUS/RISE, The Persian Rite of Spring, Fire Angels, The Plentiful Peach, and Epiphany. Talebi is a Fulbright Scholar, and the recipient of translation prizes including a National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship for her translations of Shamlou’s poetry.
Bilingual Edition
November 4, 2025
