A collection of translations from Persian to English of twenty one poems by Mohsen Namjoo, exiled Iranian singer and song-writer. This collection, sorted in chronological order and including work never published before, provides a window into Namjoo's transformation from a rebellious young student in Iran's underground music scene of the nineties to an internationally-acclaimed musician whose personal experiences with oppression, alienation, eventual emigration and constant longing for his roots resonates with millions of young people around the world. The book contains a foreword by the poet.

From Introduction:

He observed firsthand that in the quilted society of the time, human values were mere mirages that quickly disappeared as clouds of hardship and devastation drifted in. Many of the diverging and multipolar aspects of the society he lived in are evident in his poems—melancholy, ruined hopes, broken hearts, social defeat and ever-present shadow of poverty and desolation. Perhaps it is the presence of these or similar themes, common in many regions, that has made Mohsen’s works relatable by many of his generation in other parts of the world.

Mohsen's poems are an honest narration of the sufferings of his generation forgotten in the intersection of the old and the new.

From Translator's Note:

In translating this selection of poems, at times I felt as if I am walking a third, thus illegitimate, path other than those endorsed by Borges, namely, literal and recreation. Mohsen’s poems are generally not categorized as visual due to his fascination with form and rhythm. If they were, I would have probably had no choice other than to recreate. But despite painting images being a rarity, his playful ways with words pull the reader’s mind in different, often opposite, directions—“centrifugal, centripetal” as William Carlos Williams suggests—thereby opening singular spaces that cannot be quickly filled with the next thought or image, as if leaving a lasting bas relief of amazement. It is for this reason that Borges’s paradox could perhaps be avoided without the need to dismantle and dissect the poems through recreation. There was certainly no shortage of opportunities to create beautiful strangeness and stunning singularities by being literal. But to my delight, Mohsen’s special playfulness with form allowed for the occasional reach to stain my brush with familiar hues on the palette of recreating context.

Reza Arefi has been translating poetry and prose as a hobby throughout his life. His fascination with translation is fed by its transformative power through bringing disparate worlds together. He is currently working on, among other projects, Book 2 of Mohsen Namjoo's poetry.