Meet our #ManyVoices International Writer Sepideh Jodeyri

We are excited to introduce our international guest writer for  International Women’s Group Glasgow North Many Voices writing group – Sepideh Jodeyri will join the group led by poet Marjorie Lotfi Gill for their final event in November. Read on to find out more about Sepideh and what attracted to her Many Voices project.

August 10, 2017

We are excited to introduce our international guest writer for  International Women’s Group Glasgow North Many Voices writing group – Sepideh Jodeyri will join the group led by poet Marjorie Lotfi Gill for their final event on 16 November.

 

Read on to find out more about Sepideh and what attracted to her Many Voices project.

Sepideh Jodeyri  is an Iranian poet, literary critic, translator and journalist, who has published several works, including five poetry collections, a collection of short stories and an anthology of her poems.  Her articles and interviews have been published in Iranian newspapers and magazines as well as European ones. She has also translated poetry books by Edgar Allan Poe and Jorge Luis Borges as well as the graphic novel, Blue Is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh into Persian.

In the aftermath of the highly contested 2009 presidential election in Iran, which resulted in the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2009-2013), Jodeyri spoke publicly in support of the pro-democracy movement (known as Iranian Green Movement. Shortly after, Jodeyri’s works were banned inside Iran, her close friends were put in prison, forcing her to leave the country and move to Italy  in February 2011. She stayed two years in Italy as the guest writer of ICORN. Jodeyri, her husband and her son live in Washington DC, the United States right now.

As a feminist, Jodeyri has often discussed her experiences as a woman in Iran through writing. She also founded a feminist prize, the Khorshid Prize in 2008 with the stated aim of recognizing “the best poetry book of the year written by an Iranian woman.”The prize was being held for four years inside Iran though it was declared banned after Jodeyri left the country in 2011. The chairwoman she had assigned on behalf of herself and one of their sponsors were being interrogated by Iran’s intelligence service agents several times at the time.

The majority of members of IWGGN are refugees who are seeking support, friendships and are eager to integrate into the community. This is what Jodeyri had to say about her involvement her role working with the group:

“As an exiled poet who is forced to live so far away from her beloved homeland, I am delighted to hear that the women who live so far away not only from me but also from their beloved homelands have selected me as their international writer. I think we feel the same and see the world from the same point of view. And that’s the point. I hope this opportunity would help all of us make all these “Many Voices” be heard someday.”

Join us for this year’s PEN Naomi Mitchison Event with Marjorie Lotfi Gill, Sepideh Jodeyri and and International Women’s Group Glasgow North in Glasgow on 16 November, Full event & venue details here.

TAGS: International Women’s Group Glasgow North Iran Khorshid Prize many voices marjorie lotfi gill refugee Sepideh Jodeyri Translation women writers writer writers in exile