EPISODE · Dec 6, 2025 · 1H
Persian Poetry: What Prose Cannot Say | Interview with Professor Rebecca Ruth Gould
from Immortal Echoes, Mortal Words · host Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani
In this insightful interview, I, Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani, speak with Professor Rebecca Ruth Gould, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Poetics and Global Politics at SOAS University of London, about the power of (Persian) poetry to express what cannot be said in prose or philosophy. We explore: What makes Persian poetry uniquely capable of articulating philosophical and mystical truths Why Persian/Iranian thinkers historically favored poetic forms over discursive prose Why should contemporary scholars research Persian poetic tradition The challenges and responsibilities of translating Persian poetry into English without losing its beauty, depth, and spiritual nuance About Professor Rebecca Ruth Gould: YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@poetry-and-protest Rebecca Ruth Gould is an award-winning scholar, translator, and public intellectual whose work explores the intersections of poetry and politics across the Islamic world, the Caucasus, and beyond. She is the author of Erasing Palestine (Verso, 2023), The Persian Prison Poem (EUP, 2021), and Writers and Rebels (Yale UP, 2016). Featured Projects & Links: The Textual Materialist (Rebecca’s newsletter): https://rgould.substack.com GlobalLIT Project Website: https://globallit.hcommons.org GlobalLIT Intro Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlf0ggZRN80 BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/balaghas.bsky.social Book: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-persian-prison-poem.html Essays in The London Review of Books: https://www.lrb.co.uk/contributors/rebecca-ruth-gould Visit our Academy of Mystic Poetics and Philosophy, and check out our courses: https://immortalechoes.org/pages/courses If you enjoy the content and wish to support our work, your generosity helps us continue creating: https://immortalechoes.org/pages/donations My recent publications: https://istanbul.academia.edu/RasoulRahbariGhazani #PersianPoetry #Sufism #Translation #PoetryAndPolitics #Rumi #Hafez #ComparativePoetics #MiddleEasternStudies #IranianLiterature #persianpoem #sufism #rumi #poetry #poem
What this episode covers
In this insightful interview, I, Rasoul Rahbari-Ghazani, speak with Professor Rebecca Ruth Gould, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Poetics and Global Politics at SOAS University of London, about the power of (Persian) poetry to express what cannot be said in prose or philosophy. We explore: What makes Persian poetry uniquely capable of articulating philosophical and mystical truths Why Persian/Iranian thinkers historically favored poetic forms over discursive prose Why should contemporary scholars research Persian poetic tradition The challenges and responsibilities of translating Persian poetry into English without losing its beauty, depth, and spiritual nuance About Professor Rebecca Ruth Gould: YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@poetry-and-protest Rebecca Ruth Gould is an award-winning scholar, translator, and public intellectual whose work explores the intersections of poetry and politics across the Islamic world, the Caucasus, and beyond. She is the author of Erasing Palestine (Verso, 2023), The Persian Prison Poem (EUP, 2021), and Writers and Rebels (Yale UP, 2016). Featured Projects & Links: The Textual Materialist (Rebecca’s newsletter): https://rgould.substack.com GlobalLIT Project Website: https://globallit.hcommons.org GlobalLIT Intro Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlf0ggZRN80 BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/balaghas.bsky.social Book: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-persian-prison-poem.html Essays in The London Review of Books: https://www.lrb.co.uk/contributors/rebecca-ruth-gould Visit our Academy of Mystic Poetics and Philosophy, and check out our courses: https://immortalechoes.org/pages/courses If you enjoy the content and wish to support our work, your generosity helps us continue creating: https://immortalechoes.org/pages/donations My recent publications: https://istanbul.academia.edu/RasoulRahbariGhazani #PersianPoetry #Sufism #Translation #PoetryAndPolitics #Rumi #Hafez #ComparativePoetics #MiddleEasternStudies #IranianLiterature #persianpoem #sufism #rumi #poetry #poem
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Persian Poetry: What Prose Cannot Say | Interview with Professor Rebecca Ruth Gould
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