The Academy of Persian Language and Persianate Culture
Persian Literature as World Literature:
An Introduction to Persian Poetry in English Translation
Domenico Arturo Ingenito
Associate Professor of Iranian Studies and Persian Literature,
University of California, Los Angeles
About the course:
Although Persian literature constitutes one of the richest cultural heritages in the world, the lack of reliable manuals and comprehensive anthologies in English has often prevented non-Persian speakers from accessing Iran’s wondrous literary tradition. This course is an attempt to fill this gap. It offers all lovers of literature a key to access the full history of Persian poetry through published and unpublished English translations of literary masterpieces from medieval and modern Iran. Designed for readers with no knowledge of Persian, the course requires no familiarity with the language. However, Persian speakers are also welcome to enroll and interact with a vibrant and diverse group of participants interested in learning about Iran and its beautiful cultural heritage. All sessions are conducted in English.
Each meeting focuses on a major author and selected iconic works. For every poet, the instructor will provide an overview of the socio-historical and artistic context that made possible the emergence of distinctive themes, forms, and images.
Across twelve sessions, we will cover an entire millennium of Persian poetry—from Iran’s national epic, The Book of Kings, to the modernist revolution in verse led by the feminist poet Forugh Farrokhzad. We will discuss love and longing, gender fluidity, the wine of carnal and spiritual desire, mystical flights of the imagination, royal gardens, wandering dervishes, poet-princesses, etc.
While the first part of each session takes the form of a lecture, the second part unfolds as a guided book club. Participants will be invited to share reflections on the assigned passages, compare them with artistic productions from other cultural traditions, and ask about the existential, aesthetic, and ethical questions that animate the texts.
1. Ferdowsi’s Book of Kings I & Gorgani’s Vis and Ramin: The invention of the Persian New Year and the astrologic celebration of springtime.
2. Ferdowsi’s Book of Kings II: The hubris of Power and the Iranian mythological fight against evil.
3. Rudaki of Samarkand and the celebration of wine in medieval Persian poetry.
4. Nezami I: Leili and Majnun and Khosrow and Shirin, from love at first sight to the maddening power of desire.
5. Nezami II: The Seven Princesses, or love as an astrologic and architectural force.
6. ‘Attar and the Language of the Birds: how to purify the soul on the mystical path.
7. Sa‘di of Shiraz: Beholding the spectacle of the world.
8. Rumi: the intoxicating effects of poetic rhythm and silence.
9. Hafez: how to approach the intertwined paths of transcendence and mundanity.
10. Princess Jahan Malek Khatun: the most important woman poet from medieval Iran
12. Bijan Jalali: from despair to hope in post-revolutionary Iran.
11. Forugh Farrokhzad: a feminist icon for today’s Iran.
About the instructor:
Domenico Ingenito is Associate Professor of Iranian Studies and premodern Persian Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles, Bahari Fellow in the Persian Arts of the Book (Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford), core faculty member of the Pourdavoud Center for the Study of the Iranian World, and former director of the UCLA Program on Central Asia (2016-2021). His research interests center on ancient and medieval Iran, Persian poetry, visual culture of Iran and Central Asia, gender and translations studies, and premodern manuscript culture. His most recent articles are: “Hafez’s ‘Shirāzi Turk’: A Geopoetical Approach (Iranian Studies)” and “‘A Marvelous Painting’: The Erotic Dimension of Saʿdi’s Praise Poetry” (Journal of Persianate Studies). His most recent book is Beholding Beauty: Saʿdi of Shiraz and the Aesthetics of Desire in Medieval Persian Poetry (Brill, 2020, reviews appeared in Iranian Studies, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Middle Eastern Literatures, Oxford Journal of Islamic Studies). His Italian translation of Forugh Farrokhzad’s collected poems, along with all original texts, will be published in 2023 by Bompiani. He is currently working on an English translation of a selection of Saʿdi’s poems (University of California Press) and a monograph on ancient Iranian kingship, poetic creativity, and homoeroticism in the context of late antique epic cycles and court poetry. Professor Ingenito co-leads the UCLA Afghan Scholars at Risk program, which aims to bring to campus scholars and writers who face repression in Afghanistan.
Course Details
Schedule: Wednesdays, 1 April- 17 June 2026
Time: 9:00–10:15 AM (US Pacific), 12:00–1:15 PM (US Eastern), 6:00–7:15 PM (Central European)
Format: 12 online sessions
Tuition: $300 (payable in 3 installments)
Class days and times may be adjusted in accordance with the request of enrollees.
Registered participants will receive full access to recorded session videos and all course materials.
Registration link: https://forms.gle/qb8HgweQcqGEuPRD9