Sholeh Wolpé (an Iranian writer) is the first woman who translated Forugh Farrokhzad’s poems into English. She believes that Forugh Farrokhzad created a new path in poetry in Iran regarding feminist issues which no female poet did before her in sexual, political, emotional poems. There were some poems from a feminine perspective, but they were from a male point of view, so what Forugh did, was to take that on, and say no, we women have our own perspective, and of course, she paid for it for a long time. Sholeh mentions that I used to read Farrokhzad’s poems when I was a young girl, and her book was the only one that I brought from Iran and then as an adult, I began to read her work, I realized that there are many layers in her poetry, that is the brilliance of her poetry, you can read her poems and think you understand, but when you read it at an older age, the meaning changes. Her poems are very seemingly simple but multilayered. In fact, I spent two years translating 41 of her poems and I just poured my heart and soul into it.

Because, I somehow lived the emotional life that she lived and I had the parallel life in my own way, so I could establish the connection. After my translation was published the “Sin”, there was an explosion of interest in Forugh Farrokhzad, the English-speaking world became familiar with her, Iranian people became reacquainted with her because they were reading her poems in another language. What surprises me is when I got a letter from a male student, who writes me and says thank you for translating this Iranian poet because she changed my life. And I think to myself that is the power of poetry. The mid-twentieth century female poet struggling and writing in Iran, and her writings have so much power and so much depth, that this young man in mid-America in the twenty-first century is connecting with her work. And I tell you where ever I read her work, people were mesmerized, she is a remarkable woman. Sholeh believes that poem is the bridge that poets take advantage of it to connect people to each other and Forugh did it very well.