So, so, so excited to announce that today is the release date of SHAPE OF EXTINCTION, a volume of poems by Persian poet Bijan Jalali, translated in collaboration with Dr. Aria Fani, Assistant Professor of Persian and Iranian Studies at the University of Washington. After nearly 15 years of collaboration, it’s been published at last through Asemana Books, a press “devoted to publishing diasporic, underrepresented and progressive literature on the Middle East.”
The collection also includes artwork by the talented Amelia Ossario; a preface by Domenico Ingenito, and a critical introduction by Aria. We are incredibly grateful to Mehdi Ganjavi for believing in our vision and helping us bring it to fruition! Many thanks, as well, to brilliant poets Shadab Zeest Hashmi and Faisal Mohyuddin for their generous and attentive advanced praise.
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A little about the collection, from Asemana Press:
Shape of Extinction brings together 59 short poems by the modernist Iranian poet Bijan Jalali, the first book-length selection of his meditative yet quietly radical approach to poetry. A critical introduction situates Jalali’s work within the broader currents of modern Persian poetry and politics. With bilingual Persian-English texts presented in parallel, this volume invites readers—both familiar and new—to engage with Jalali’s poetic vision.
Bijan Jalali (1927–1999) was an Iranian poet known for his brief, minimalist, meditative style. Departing from traditional Persian verse, his poems focus on the nature of poetic production, the cosmos, and nature. Though overlooked during his lifetime, Jalali’s work has gained posthumous recognition for its quiet yet profound impact on modern Persian poetry.
A link to order: https://asemanabooks.ca/shape-of-extinction/
Adeeba Shahid Talukder 