More than two weeks after the controversial presidential election in Iran, it is far from clear how the street protests will change the nation. However, here is a reading list of Iranian writing to understand that fascinating country

Strange Times, My Dear: The Pen Anthology of Contemporary Iranian Literature
edited by Nahid Mozaffari and Ahmad Karimi Hakkak
The writer, especially the poet, occupies a special place in Iranian society. The stories and poems gathered in this emphatically recommended volume provide an overview of three generations of Iranian writers and the tradition of writing between the lines to convey subversion and profile a society. Consider these opening lines from the title poem by Ahmad Shamlu: “They smell your breath/ lest you have said: I love you,/ They smell your heart:/ These are strange times, my dear./ They flog love/ at the roadblock,/ Let’s hide love in the larder… The man who knocks at your door in the noon of the night/ has come to kill the light./ Let’s hide light in the larder.”

Lipstick Jihad
Azadeh Moaveni
Moaveni, who co-wrote Nobel Peace Prize-winner Shirin Ebadi’s memoir Iran Awakening (also recommended reading), grew up in the US, but returned to her country to report for American publications. Catching up with her family, and using that insider’s space to venture into Iranian society, she got a unique profile of Iran’s urban, and in a large part well-off, youth. As the title suggests, she discovers ways in which they use fashion and social gatherings to dodge the state’s codes for dress and behaviour.

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