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Censorship of Poetry in Post-Revolutionary Iran (1979 to 2014), Growing up with Censorship (A Memoir), and the Kindly Interrogator (A Collection of Poetry)

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Censorship of Poetry in Post-Revolutionary Iran (1979 to 2014), Growing up with Censorship (A Memoir), and the Kindly Interrogator (A Collection of Poetry) Censorship of Poetry in Post-Revolutionary Iran (1979 to 2014), Growing up with Censorship (A Memoir), and The Kindly Interrogator (A Collection of Poetry) Alireza Hassani This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Newcastle University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics Department of Creative Writing November 2015 Abstract The thesis comprises a dissertation, a linking piece and a collection of poems. The dissertation is an analysis of state-imposed censorship in Iranian poetry from 1979 through 2014. It investigates the state's rationale for censorship, its mechanism and its effects in order to show how censorship has influenced the trends in poetry and the creativity of poets during the period studied. The introduction outlines attitudes towards censorship in three different categories: Firstly, censorship as "good and necessary", then censorship as "fundamentally wrong yet harmless or even beneficial to poetry", and lastly, censorship as a force that is always destructive and damages poetry. Chapter one investigates the relevant laws, theories and cultural policies in order to identify the underlying causes for censorship of poetry. Chapter two looks at the structure and mechanism of the censorship apparatus and examines the role of cultural organizations as well as judicial and security forces in enforcing censorship. Chapter three contemplates and explores the reaction of Iranian poets to censorship and different strategies and techniques they adopt to protest, challenge and circumvent censorship. Chapter four analyses the outcome of the relationship between the censorship apparatus and the poets, providing a clear picture of how censorship defines, shapes and presents the poetry produced and published in Iran. Chapter five compares the type of censorship in Iran with two historical cases of Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Bloc to conclude that every censorship regime has particular characteristics and affects creativity in a unique way. It revisits the previous arguments in light of findings of the research and concludes that censorship in Iran has highly influenced the contemporary Iranian poetry, and that it leaves a lasting effect on creativity of the Iranian poets. Growing up with Censorship is a self-reflective memoir which chronicles the author’s personal encounters with censorship both as a reader and a writer from 1979 to 2014. It links the dissertation to the poems and provides an intimate narrative of the role censorship has played in shaping the author’s poetic life and his poetry. The Kindly Interrogator is a portfolio of 57 poems concerned with the themes of censorship, surveillance and persecution. i This research study is dedicated to: - My parents, who made unimaginable sacrifice to send me away to study from an early age and worked hard to enable me achieve my goals. They are an eternal source of inspiration, support and unconditional love. - To my brother, Mohammad Ali, who introduced me to the wonderful world of books, a man of great character who spent his life in a permanent struggle for justice and freedom and who taught me to stand up to tyranny and injustice. - To my sisters, Fatemeh, Esmat, Zahra and Zohreh, for their love and devotion. And - To my adorable wife, Vida, my soulmate, my shelter, my refuge. - To my lovely children, Behafarid, Mehrafarid and Bardia. I wish they will grow up into a safer, freer and more equal world. ii Acknowledgment I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisors, Professor WN Herbert and Dr. Tina Gharavi. Professor Herbert is undoubtedly the best supervisor I could wish for; a great poet, a man of vast knowledge and a passionate lover of international poetry. His advice, friendship and assistance were vital to the development of the creative component of this thesis. Dr. Tina Gharavi gave me hope and encouragement throughout. She helped me a lot in shaping the final form of the memoir and the critical component. I am hugely indebted to her. Thanks are also due to the following faculty who acted as APR panel members and read my material in different stages: Professor Sean O’Brien, Professor Jackie Kay, Professor Peter Reynolds, Margaret Wilkinson, Dr. Laura Fish, Dr. Andrew Shail and Cynthia Fuller. Their feedback was always encouraging and extremely helpful. My dear friends, Dr. Vali Gholami and Dr. Behrooz Soltanian offered me advice and answered my numerous technical questions. I owe them thanks and gratitude. iii iv Contents Abstract I Dedication II Acknowledgment III Note on Transliteration and Translation VI Censorship of Poetry in Post-Revolutionary Iran (1979 to 2014) VIII Foreword IX Introduction 1 Chapter One: Laws, Theories and Policies of Censorship 6 Chapter Two: Structure, Mechanism and Practice of Censorship 19 Chapter Three: How Do Writers and Poets React to Censorship? 51 Chapter Four: How is Censorship Affecting Iranian Poetry? 58 Chapter Five: Conclusion 64 Growing up with Censorship (A Memoir) 71 The Kindly Interrogator (A Collection of Poetry) 98 Appendix A: Notes on Censorship of Individual Poems 170 Appendix B: Explanatory Notes on Individual Poems 171 Bibliography 172 v Note on Transliteration and Translation The author has used the transliteration scheme of the International Society for Iranian Studies as described below: Consonants ب B ض Z پ P ط T ت T ظ Z ث S ع ’ ج J غ Gh چ Ch ف F ح H ق Q خ Kh ک K د D گ G ذ Z ل L ر R م M ز Z ن N ژ Zh ه H س S و V ش Sh ی Y ص S ء ’ Vowels Short Long Diphthongs a (as in ashk) ā or Ā (as in ensān or Ăb) - e (as in fekr) i (as in melli) ey (as in Teymur) o (as in pol) u (as in Tus) ow (as in rowshan) vi Other rules: - The ezafeh is written as -e after consonants, e.g. ketāb-e and as -ye after vowels (and silent final h), e.g. daryā-ye and khāneh-ye - The silent final h is written, e.g. Dowleh - The tashdid is represented by a doubling of the letter, e.g. takhassos - The plural hā should be added to the singular as in dast-hā Proper names of persons and places have been recorded based on the most common spelling which may or may not comply with the above transliteration scheme. All translations are the author’s work unless noted otherwise. vii Censorship of Poetry in Post-Revolutionary Iran (1979-2014) viii Foreword In the critical component of my thesis, I will comment briefly on the relative position of opponents and proponents of censorship in poetry. I will analyse the question of social harm claimed to be caused by poetry as the main pillar of the arguments in favour of censorship and will show how this question relates to the censorship debate in contemporary Iran. I will also elaborate on the position of those who disagree with censorship in principle but argue that it is unable to damage poetry or might even be beneficial to its creation. Ivan Klima, the Czech writer, is an author whose ideas I have considered in this context. I will then discuss the views of those who oppose censorship and regard it as destructive to poetry and the creative arts – under any conditions. In order to provide a clear picture of the relationship between the Iranian censorship machine and Iranian writers and poets, I will offer a study of the structure of this state-imposed censorship in greater detail. I will describe the laws and policies on the control of culture and the reactions of poets and writers to these laws and policies. I will then analyse the outcome of this relationship in order to answer the main question of the thesis: does state-imposed censorship, as practised in contemporary Iran, have an effect on the process of the creation of poetry? If yes, how are these effects perceived by the poets and how lasting can such effects be? As a poet who has written and published poetry in Iran, my personal experiences with censorship are presented in the form of a self-reflective, intimate memoir which is included in section two. It is intended to show how growing up with censorship has influenced and shaped my life as well as my poetry. The memoir will help readers to understand how my life experiences have been reflected in my poetry. While the critical component provides the background knowledge about the status of censorship in Iran, the memoir puts censorship in context and leads the reader to the poetry as the product of the conditions described. Censorship is not acknowledged in the official discourse of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Instead, the authorities use the word momayyezi, which can be translated as ‘audit’ or ‘appraisal’ while the Dehkhoda Dictionary defines momayyezi as ‘to study and assess, to appraise a property, to estimate the tax, to assess the income of businessmen and traders for taxation purposes’.1 Avoiding if not censoring the word ‘censorship’ is a clear indication of the sensitivity of this issue. 1 Aliakbar Dehkhoda and others, Loghatnāmeh (Iran: Parsi Wiki Open Dictionary, 2015) <http://www.loghatnaameh.org/dehkhodasearchresultfa.html?searchtype=0&word=2YXZhduM2LLbjA% 3d%3d> [accessed 26 January 2015]. ix Documents on censorship are strictly guarded and no official information is disclosed by the government that I was able to find in the course of my research. Consequently, no unbiased and independent study of censorship is possible in Iranian academic centres. For the purpose of the present research, I visited the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which is the main authority in charge of books and publications, on three different occasions and asked to interview the authorities in the Book Office or to meet some of the censors.
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