This statement has been released today in response to the recent controversy around the letter that was signed by prominent world intellectuals in support of Iranian political prisoners. The statement has been signed by high-profile union activists, analysts, former political prisoners, intellectuals, and members of the Writers' Association of Iran living inside Iran, as well as scholars, families of political prisoners executed in the 1980s, and artists and intellectuals in exile. For those signatories inside Iran, it takes a lot of courage to join the voices of Iranian dissent in exile, especially under the increasingly repressive circumstances in Iran. Prominent figures such as Saeed Madani, Mohamad Habibi, and others have signed the letter. I urge everyone to read this statement, which echoes the voice of a lot of Iranians who are caught between a brutal war and an unprecedented wave of state repression. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F…

“Mossadegh in America” Conference just began in Philadelphia’s Ethical Society on Rittenhouse Square. There will be two days of panels, documentary screening and commemoration ceremony. The conference is free and open to public.

داشتم شعر «ستایش» را که ابوالقاسم لاهوتی در هفده سالگی سرود و در هفته‌نامهٔ «تربیت» منتشر شده بود، می‌خواندم. این چند بیت گویی شرح احوال امروز ماست. لاهوتی یکی اولین از نخستین شاعرانی‌ست که پیش از نیما، اشعار شکسته و هجایی نوشت و تن زدن از اوزان و قوانین عروضی را وارد شعر فارسی کرد. و بی‌درنگ یکی از درخشان‌ترین چهره‌های شعر فارسی بود.

شهرنوش راست گفته بود که «نویسنده‌ی ایرانی در وطن‌اش جایی ندارد و ناچار است برود.» مردن در وطنی که روزنامه‌نگار «برجسته‌»اش چه در زمان حیات و چه پس از مرگ نویسنده تیترهای پرغرض و مرض می‌زند دست کمی از مردن در تبعید ندارد.