Sima Yari

Sima Yari ( سیما یاری ), of the well- known poets in Iran's recent literature, was born in 1959 in Tehran. She graduated from High school with honors majoring in Mathematics in 1974 at age 15. She was accepted and enrolled in School of Economics at National University of Iran to pursue her education in the same year. Sima was in tender teenage years when the Islamic Revolution was in forming and developing stages and the political structures of society were changing.

In 1981, two years after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, her protest against closing Universities for the reason of so called "Cultural Revolution", cost her gravely. She was expelled from University and furthermore, she was banned from attending any other school and pursuing her education for the rest of her life. In a word, she was stripped from almost all of her individual rights in the society.

Poetical Works

It was then that she decided to direct her attention to her only beloved subject, Persian Literature. A few years later, in the beginning of so called the "Reform era" when the obstacles eased up and publishing of new books became feasible, in June 1998, her first collection of poetry "Aftaab Mahtaab" was published. Soon this piece of art was notably a focus of attention by the critics and intellectuals of society. Later in 2000, "Aftaab Mahtaab" was nominated for the "Best Book of the Year"" Award. From Aftaab Mahtaab:

The Unattainable

I am
:Yet
I am not.
Such is the law of Love.
So unattainable that,
:With all the power of your
::Pure intelligent,
You never could explain its principle.

But explaining principles
Is the pastime of philosophers,
::In whose affairs
I would not care to interfere.

The mere fact
That my night blooms into dawn
With the desire that you be
::still there.
Is the glowing Law of Love:
Too simple
:Ever to be absorbed
Into
Any field of pure intellect.

Sima's second book, "Kelaagh Par" was published in 2000. This book is considered and often called "the means and the essence of poetry" by critics and intellectuals.
This in fact is amongst the very few books ever published in Persian poetry in recent history. From "Kelaagh Par"

The Thimble

Intimately, the thimble
Embraces the tip
:::of the finger

Protecting the soft flesh
From the sharp needle,
::And easing the needle's passage
The Thimble
:-- OH My ! --
::Must be deeply in love!

Her Third book "Sadaf va Ghahveh" was published in 2003 and in less than two years, the third edition of this book was re-published and soon sold out. From Sadaf va Ghahveh

Expression

It was not at all possible to say
:::" I love you"
Yet I did.
I said
"Do not forget your keys"
"The steps are slippery."
"You must be careful."
"Wait for the red light
:::to turn green ..."

The forth collection of Sima's poetry named "kilid" was printed in 2005. This slim book was accompanied by a CD of the poet reading from the book. However, this coincided with the end of the "Reform era" and this publication never hit the bookstores. This book was banned because it was accompanied by a woman's voice and therefore considered against public morals and beliefs. And further to this, publishing of her 8 new volumes of poems and short stories has not been possible since.

From her published works, one can realize that she tries to expand and broaden the boundaries of expression and "poetic-speech". The profound honesty yet pure simplicity of her works, have always been the focus of attention by the critics and intellectuals. They consider Sima as a poet who accentuates and voices people's similarities and common grounds regardless of all differences they might have. While she paints the most hidden angles of individuals' thoughts in her poems, she skillfully amplifies the general issues of humanity as a single entity. In the works of Sima Yari, we face an enduring attempt for expressing the non-violent aspect of human relations. The "poetic-speech" used by her, has placed her works amongst the bests of recent Persian poetry.

Her focus on the real day-to-day affairs and clearly expressing them, invites the reader to share the artistic experience of the poet. From this angle one could compare her works with Sylvia Plath's, the American poet and writer, or even more successful than Plath.

The honest and realistic content of Sima's poems is artistic expression of a generation's personal and social emotions, those who have lived through an important and painful historical period. Men and women of this generation often find their real life experiences vividly in Sima's poems. Critics believe Sima Yari's works have already become classic in her time and her name will surely continue to live in Iran's literature history as a poet with a very unique style in poetry.

Her works contains eleven volumes of poetry, one short story, and a complete online collection of her new poems (Shabaaneh).

Published works

# Aftab-Mahtab ( آفتاب مهتاب )
# Kalagh par ( کلاغ پَر )
# Sadaf va ghahveh ( صدف و قهوه )
# Kilid (the key) ( کلید )

Yet to be Published

# Saale assal ( سال عسل )
# Jodaaee ( جدایی )
# Daste Akhar (1) ( دست آخر 1 )
# Daste Akhar (2) ( دست آخر 2 )
# Daste Akhar (3) ( دست آخر 3 )
# Daste Akhar (4) ( دست آخر 4 )
# Short stories ( داستان های کوتاه )

# Shabaaneh ( شبانه )(Entire collection is available online at The Poet's Official Website http://www.simayari.com

References:

# [http://original.britannica.com/eb/article-250499/Literature Britannica Book of the Year 2006]
# [http://www.simayari.com/ Sima Yari Official Website]