Mehdi Mousavi

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Mehdi Mousavi, also Mehdi Moosavi, also Seyed Mahdi Mousavi (Persian: سید مهدی موسوی)(born 1976)[1][2] is an Iranian poet. He is known for poems on social issues. Mousavi was arrested in 2013, along with poet Fateme Ekhtesari. Mousavi was sentenced to nine years in prison plus 99 lashes.[1][3] A group of poets signed a petition asking for his release.[4][5] Mousavi escaped from Iran in January 2016.[6]

Mousavi is a poet, editor, cultural activist and pharmacist from Iran. He has been a leading force in postmodern poetry in Iran. He has published fourteen poetry collections, taught literature at universities and colleges, and arranged his own illegal literary gatherings and writing courses. He has also organized literature festivals and written lyrics for Iranian singers. Along with Fatemeh Ekhtesari, he was editor of the journal Hamin farad bud (It was the very tomorrow) until it was banned and closed in 2008. After being sentenced to nine years in prison and ninety-nine lashes, Mousavi managed to flee Iran in 2015. He came to Lillehammer as part of the Cities of Refuge Network in 2017.[7]

Career[]

Mehdi Mousavi is a prolific poet and cultural activist. Between 1999 and 2013, he published more than 10 collections of poetry in various publishing houses, both in Iran and abroad. Two collections of poems entitled Suddenly and Beeping for the Sheep were denied permission for publication by the authorities. Many more of his poems denied publication were published online.

Mousavi is known as the leading figure of the , which is known for its rejection of conformist religious and ideological dogma. By reflecting on contemporary social and political issues in Iran, they challenge the form and content of the Ghazal, traditionally known for invoking melancholy, love, longing, and metaphysical questions.

Most of the works by this movement has faced severe censorship by the Iranian officials, and almost all of these works were banned in Iran, and have therefore been distributed underground. Together with Fatemeh Ekhtesari, Mousevi ran the post-modern magazine Hamin farda bood (It was the Very Tomorrow) until it was banned by the Iranian authorities in 2008.

As a driving force for Ghazal, for more than 16 years, Mousavi has run creative writing workshops where he has been teaching writing of poetry, short-stories and novels. Banned from meeting in public, they would often meet in people’s homes. The gatherings drew between 20-150 writers, artists and intellectuals who would discuss their work, literature in general, fine arts, film, philosophy and politics. The workshops were regularly shut down by the Iranian authorities, who placed Mousavi and several of his peers under surveillance.

Mehdi Mousavi also holds a PhD in Pharmacy, and owned and ran his own pharmacy in Ilam, Iran, from 2012-2015.

Arrest[]

On December 6, 2013, Fatemeh Ekhtesari and Mehdi Moosavi had planned to travel to Turkey for a literary workshop, but they were stopped at the airport. They were told they were under a travel ban, and their passports were confiscated. A few hours later they disappeared and did not appear again until December 24, 2014, when it was known they were in Section 2A of Evin Prison. Torture and other abuse of prisoners is common in the prison, which is controlled by the Intelligence Division of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. On January 14, 2014, Ekhtesari and Mousavi were released on bail. Their lawyer said Moosavi was sentenced to six years in prison for "insulting the holy sanctities", three years for "storing tear gas", and 99 lashes for "illicit relations".[2] The amount of the bail was 200 million tomans, or about 60,000 USD.[8]

Work[]

Mehdi Mousavi is known for his collections of poetry, and as a leader in the "Postmodern Ghazal" movement, a radical poetry movement that challenges religious traditions. Many of his works were banned in Iran and distributed underground. The authorities refused publication of two of his collections, "Suddenly" and "Beeping for the Sheep". Some of Mousavi's lyrics have been performed by Shahin Najafi, an Iranian singer in exile.

Published works include:

  • The Angels Have Committed Suicide (2002)
  • I Only Publish These for You (2005)
  • The Little Bird Was Neither a Bird nor Little (2010)[2]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Gladstone, Rick (1 November 2015). "Petition Urges Ayatollah to Pardon Condemned Iranian Poets" – via NYTimes.com.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Iran: Fatemeh Ekhtesari and Mehdi Moosavi sentenced - English PEN". 21 October 2015.
  3. ^ "Two Poets Sentenced to Flogging and Nine and Eleven Years in Prison – Center for Human Rights in Iran".
  4. ^ "Poets Rally for Iranian Colleagues - PEN America". 30 October 2015.
  5. ^ Dehghan, Saeed Kamali (4 November 2015). "Poets lobby Iran to pardon pair convicted of insulting religion" – via The Guardian.
  6. ^ "Iranian Poet Flees Because Of Crippling Censorship".
  7. ^ https://litteraturfestival.no/en/artists/mehdi-mousavi.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ rpersianwikileaks (3 December 2014). "محاکمه فاطمه اختصاری و مهدی موسوی در دادگاه انقلاب".

External links[]

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