Politics go Poetic

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

By Williette Nyanue
Published: Monday, January 26, 2009 in the Daily Free Press

As America celebrates the recent presidential inauguration, citizens should not forget the importance of the humanities and art, Iranian author and professor Azar Nafisi said to a crowd of more than 300 people Friday.

Nafisi, the author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, which is about her life in Iran, spoke at First Parish Church Meetinghouse in Cambridge Friday to a crowd expecting a reading of her newest book Things I’ve Been Silent About. Instead, Nafisi focused on the significance that poetry and humanities play in politics.

“At this time of crisis when we are bailing out everything, who will bail out thought and imagination,” Nafisi said.

In early December, Nafisi became a United States citizen at a time of “crisis and hope” that reflected other times in history, she said.

“If we are evoking Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. and our founding fathers, those are the poetic people,” Nafisi said. “They were original. That’s why they have their place in history.”

To change the future, citizens should not let political systems take away memories and thoughts, Nafisi said. She said she has done so by writing them.

“I want the book to be both a homage and a declaration of independence from my parents and my country of origin,” she said.

Melinda Barbosa, a 23-year-old Somerville resident, said she did not mind that Nafisi did not have a simple book reading.

“She just told you how intimate it was and how difficult it was for her to write it, it must be hard to talk about it,” Barbosa said.“I liked how she tied in the political aspect into how we should value humanities more.”

The controversy over Nafisi’s portrayal of Islam is not always a bad thing, Barbosa said.

“It shows people’s interest in culture,” Barbosa. “Something being your culture versus something being wrong.”

Vicki Halal, a teacher from Medford, said she wanted Nafisi to read more passages, rather than the points she fixed on.

“It gave a glimpse into the life of women and showed how even in a culture, poetry was still alive and women still had a desire to read and learn,” Halal said. “But I wanted more talk about the book.”

Nacira Guenif, a 50-year-old French scholar who attended, said Nafisi’s broad approach to issues at the reading was shying away from criticism that her work stereotypes Iranian women and their country. Nafisi’s “politically correct” approach to women’s issues in the Middle East was apparent, Guenif said.

“She talks of the political incorrectness to talk about women in Dafur, in Iran, but never mentions Gaza,” Guenif said. “It is such a big deal now, how can she not mention it?”