If poetry is emotion rendered incendiary, then Forugh Farrokhzad was made of fire. For the sin of revolutionary frankness in a time of deep, patriarchal conservatism, Iran's modernist icon suffered greatly—accused of immorality, forbidden from seeing her child, even confined for a time to an "asylum." Decades after her death in 1967, she continued to pay a price—the hard-line Islamist government that eventually took over Iran would go on to ban much of her work. A printing press that refused to stop publishing her poems was burned to the ground.

Forugh's life—short, tragic but marked by poetic genius—forms the basis for Jasmin Darznik's vivid first novel. Iranian-born Darznik traces Forugh's tumultuous 32 years and, through them, the story of midcentury Persian society. Effectively a fictionalized biography, Song of a Captive Bird is an unsparing account of the necessity and consequences of speaking out.

From the book's opening scene—a brutal account of Forugh's subjection to a so-called "virginity test"—the novel details the myriad ways in which a young female poet attempting to pierce the heart of a male-led art form is made to suffer indignities for her audacity. At first ignored, then condemned, then made a public spectacle for her poems, in particular those in which she explores themes of desire and sexuality, Forugh's story is as relevant today as it was during her lifetime.

Writing from a place of deep reverence for her central character, Darznik crafts a sensory experience, an Iran whose sights and sounds and scents feel neither superficial nor trivially exotic. The result is a well-honed novel about the meaning of rebellion—what happens when a poet of singular talent decides "that it's shame, not sin, that's unholy."

 

This article was originally published in the February 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In 1950s Iran, poet Forugh Farrokhzad poured her deeply intimate musings onto the page, precipitating a short, tumultuous life of censure and loss. Memoirist Darznik (TheGood Daughter) skillfully employs Farrokhzad's own eloquent verse to re-create in fiction the life of this 16-year-old wife and mother who became the voice and face of Iran's early feminist movement under the Shah. Rebellious and questing by nature, Forugh envied her brothers' freedom, chafing under an authoritarian father and later a careless husband whose mother was the decision maker in the their home. Not even her adored son, Kami, could quell her yearning for full personhood; literature and creative writing were her only solace. Darznik captures Forugh's remarkable bravery and tenacity as she pursues her dream of becoming a published author and documentary filmmaker. In straightforward prose style, she illuminates the contrast between Tehran's sublime beauty and the hardships faced by those people, especially women, whose voices were silenced under the Shah and throughout the revolution. VERDICT Readers can't seem to get enough of fictional biography, and this first novel from Iranian American memoirist, professor, and essayist Darznik is a poignant, mesmerizing addition to the genre. [See Prepub Alert, 8/28/17.]—Sally Bissell, formerly with Lee Cty. Lib. Syst., Fort Myers, FL

Tehran-born, California-based Darznik follows The Good Daughter, her New York Times best-selling memoir, with a debut novel about poet Forugh Farrokzhad, a key figure in Persian literature sometimes called Iran's Sylvia Plath. Considered both brilliant and shocking, her poems reflected a rebellious life that ended with her tragic death in a car accident at age 32. Not surprisingly, her poems were banned after the 1979 revolution; Darznik offers translations here.

As a child growing up in 1940s Tehran, Forugh Farrokhzad is repeatedly told that she is expected to become a submissive wife who stays out of the public eye. As an adult, however, Forugh's passion for poetry calls her to a very different life. (LJ 12/17)

In this sumptuous debut novel, Darznik (The Good Daughter, a memoir) retells the fleeting life of a real-life Iranian feminist, poet, and director. In this imagining—told with the vulnerability and confidence of a memoir—Forugh Farrokhzad grows up in a Tehran where women and girls see little of the world beyond their own garden walls, but the glimpses are formative. Poetry is the thread that weaves through Forugh's journey: the familial and romantic relationships that uplift and crush her; the darkest hours of isolation where she is made to forget her own work; the possibilities and promise, always just out of her reach. Excerpts of her verses, translated by Darznik, light the path from Forugh's tragic first love to the birth of her son, a passionate affair, her first publication, and her determination to remain independent in a world so focused on control. Forugh's crucibles are not so dissimilar from those of her country, balancing a rich history and faith with a desire to secure a place in modern spheres of influence. As Forugh finds her stride, so does Darznik's telling; the direct but descriptive voice soars as its subject makes a life for herself. Darznik's marvelous homage to Forugh captures the frustration and determination she must have felt to overcome the strictures of her environment, beautifully recreating her difficult path to fame. (Feb.)