Sepideh Jodeyri is a poet and an Iranian citizen. She discovered Blue Is the Warmest Color in Europe and decided to translate it into Persian. This is the reason she is being harassed today.

In Iran, homosexuality is condemned and can be punishable by death. Therefore, the Persian version of Blue was published in Paris.  But when a publisher in Tehran recently published the latest collection of poems by Sepideh and made plans to promote its release, Iran’s religious establishment became enraged. Sepideh was denounced for having translated Blue, which critics said amounted to supporting homosexuality. Meanwhile, Sepideh’s local publisher was attacked for having failed to gain approval from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidiance before printing the book. Attacks on Sepideh in the media have lasted for several days now, and she no longer has hope that her books will be published in her country in the future. Furthermore, her publisher is under serious threat of losing his license. The director of the museum where a promotional event for her book was scheduled to take place has been fired from his job and the event was cancelled. 

It is unbearable  hat such events go uncommented on. This is one more infringement on Iranians’ liberty to write, read, communicate, and above all, love. 

Please spread the word about Sepideh Jodeyri. In Iran and elsewhere, many in the LGBTQ community are deeply shocked by Sepideh’s treatment. 

For more the details about this story, click here.

The Persian version of Blue is the Warmest Color can be found here.
 

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Background Information

Jodeyri’s first book, Dream of the Amphibious girl, a collection of poems, was published in 2000, followed by Logical, a collection of short stories, in 2001. In 2005 she published The Raven, a selection of Edgar Allan Poe poems translated into Persian. Jodeyri’s second collection of poems, Some pink inclined to my blood, was published in 2007. Her poetry has been translated into English, Swedish, and Dutch. She has been working under escalating censorship throughout her literary career. Her second and fourth books were heavily censored, and her fifth book, a collection of poems, was banned from publication altogether.

Write A Letter

To stand in solidarity with Jodeyri, please send a letter of appeal. 

Send Your Letter To

Send Appeals to:

 

Supreme Leader of Iran
Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei
Islamic Republic Street--End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
email: [email protected]
twitter: @khamenie_ir

 

President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Hassan Rouhani
Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
email: [email protected]
twotter @HassanRouhani