False Attribution or Creative Imitation? The Tradition of Women's Poetry in...

In an environment in which writing by women was considered less valuable than that of men, it is unsurprising that poetry penned by women in early Qajar Iran (circa 1797-1848) has, for the most part, survived only in fragmented form. In this special lecture, Dr Dominic Brookshaw (University of Oxford) will examine in detail three short lyric poems penned by three women poets. To date these poems have been treated as instances of sloppy misattribution. Dr Brookshaw will argue that these poems (and many others like them) should instead be read as evidence of an active culture of creative imitation within the world of women poets in the Qajar period; one that did not always include men.

In partnership with the Alwaleed Centre, University of Edinburgh:www.alwaleed.ed.ac.uk.