Samad Alavi, Persian Studies lecturer, will introduce English-speaking audiences to acclaimed poets of 20th-century Iran. Ahmad Shamlu (1925-2000) has been celebrated widely among generations of Persian speakers for his deeply humanist and artistically masterful verse. Alavi will read his literary transitions of Shamlu's poetry and discuss themes and historical events shaping the poet's prolific work. Mr. Alavi has taught language and literature classes at SF State since 2011. Free.
Alavi is a Ph.D. candidate at University of California, Berkeley, where he is completing his dissertation on the intersection poetics and politics of four modern Iranian poets: Ahmad Shamlu, said Soltanpour, Mohammad Reza Shafi’i Kadkani and Mohammad Mokhtari. Alavi also translates modern Persian poetry.