The Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of Washington is proud to announce the second cycle of the Iraj Khademi Residency in Persian Literature. This unique residency, named in honor of the late Iraj Khademi, a passionate advocate for Persian literary culture, brings an emerging or established writer, translator, or scholar of Persian literature to campus for a quarter-long engagement with the UW community.
Building on the success of the inaugural cycle, this year’s residency continues its mission of fostering cross-cultural dialogue, supporting creative and scholarly work in Persian, and expanding access to the rich literary traditions of Iran and the Persianate world. Niloufar Talebi and Adeeba Talukder (bios below), the two residents, will offer public readings, participate in classroom discussions, and collaborate with faculty and students across disciplines.
We are grateful to the Khademi family and all supporters of this initiative for helping us sustain Persian literary studies as a vital and living field of inquiry and imagination. For those who missed the first residency, please listen to this delightful podcast, produced by Atosa Estekizadeh, which features interviews with Shahzoda Nazarova and Mohammad Asef Soltanzade. (link to uploaded podcast)
Stay tuned for event announcements and opportunities to engage with this year's residents!
Bios:
Adeeba Shahid Talukder is a Pakistani and Bengali-American poet, vocalist, and translator of Urdu and Persian poetry. She is the author of Shahr-e-jaanaan: The City of the Beloved (Tupelo Press, 2020), winner of the 2017 Kundiman Poetry Prize, and the chapbook What Is Not Beautiful (Glass Poetry Press, 2018). Her work has appeared in Washington Square Review, Gulf Coast, World Literature Today, Aleph Review, The Margins, Words Without Borders, and various other publications. Adeeba holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan and has received fellowships from Kundiman and Poets House. She is currently training in Hindustani classical music under Ustad Salamat Ali and is the recipient of a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.
Niloufar Talebi is a London-born, Iranian-American author, literary translator, librettist, and multidisciplinary artist. She holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Irvine and an MFA from Bennington College. Her work bridges literature, translation, and performance, often exploring themes of identity and cultural memory. Her hybrid memoir Self-Portrait in Bloom combines personal narrative with English translations of Ahmad Shamlou’s poetry, and inspired the opera Abraham in Flames, which premiered in San Francisco in 2019. Talebi has also edited Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians Around the World and written libretti for several operas. She is a Fulbright U.S. Scholar and recipient of multiple NEA and arts council grants.
Artwork by Amelia Ossorio, MELC student majoring in Persian