The poet, Shirin Razavian, talks about her life and work on the launch of a new book celebrating 20 years of Exiled Writers Ink.
“Resistance- Voices of Exiled Writers” is available now from Palewell Press.
Shirin Razavian: British poet born in Tehran, has been writing poetry since the age of 9. She studied Persian literature and psychology but due to the censorship and lack of freedom of expression in Iran, she fled her country and started building a new life in London where she became a qualified accountant and continued a career in finance.
Shirin’s poetry has been featured in Poetry London, Index on Censorship, Exiled Writers Magazine, The London Magazine, Agenda and Persian Book Review among others. She has published 5 Farsi and English poetry collections in the UK, the latest of which was Which Shade of Blue featuring original works and translations by the poet and translator of Russian literature, Robert Chandler.
She has worked with the Iranian PEN Centre in Exile and Iranian Writers Association in Exiles as a member of the the management committee, is currently a member of the editorial committee in Exiled Writers Ink! and sits on the panel of judges for the Jaleh Esfahani poetry prize.
Her first selection of poems in Persian, titled “Words to thoughts” was published in London in October 1995
Shirin’s second book was published in June 1999 called “The Sad Universality of Oyster”. Her third book named ”Sweet Sonnets” was published in 2001 includes 50 “Ghazals” on social and political themes.
In 2008 she was nominated as one of the wriers to be featured in a translation project facilitated by Exiled Writers Ink! and funded by the Arts Council where a selection of her poems was translated into English and published in a book called “Free Fall”.
Her fifth selection of English and Persian poems “Which Shade of Blue” was published in London and was equally well-received by both Iranian and English-speaking readers.
Shirin has been accredited for being one of the few poets of her generation to have captured the traditional Persian poetry and write Ghazals with comfort and passion.
For more information please visit: www.ShirinRazavian.com
Instagram @ShirinRazavianPoetry
Instagram @ShirinRazavianArt
Facebook @ShirinRazavianPoetry
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