- Rivanne Sandler
- University of Toronto
- "Simin Behbehani's 'Conversation' in the Context of her Times"
Rivanne Sandler began the study of the Middle East at the graduate level, in the Islamic Studies department of the University of Toronto. She majored in Political Science and Sociology as an undergraduate at the U. of T. A three year Masters' degree was linguistic, historical and cultural preparation for doctoral work. Although Arabic was the primary language of study, Persian quickly became her language of academic choice. Middle East Studies at the University of Toronto in the 1960s, focused on the medieval historical period and the classical literary tradition. However the writers and poets of the 1960s became of special interest to her, especially as their works became accessible outside Iran. Three visits to Iran in the early 1970s followed the completion of her doctorate. Her publications focus on the poetry and prose of the 1950s-1970s, with women's literature and the effects of censorship, of particular interest. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on twentieth century Iranian culture and society, and modern Persian literature in the original language and in translation. She is presently a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Near & Middle East Civilizations and teaches graduate courses on Iranian women's literature and writing by Iranians in the Diaspora.
- AbstractIn the first half of the twentieth century, a confluence of social and cultural factors led a growing number of Iranian women to compose poetry. Most crucial for the development of poetry by women, some of the early poets initiated poetic conventions that were especially pertinent to women's experience. One of the most intriguing of these conventions is a poetic conversation that is at one and the same time, very public and very private. The poetry of Simin Behbehani exhibits this emblematic poetic habit. The paper examines the manner in which Behbehani's poetry weaves interactively, the social and the personal for a compelling poetic statement.
