© Masih Alinejad
Various projects within the cluster focus on Jewish heritage in the Arabic and Persian languages. This is also the theme of this event, in which our principal investigator, Ronny Volland, is taking part. It is a joint initiative of the Instituts für den Nahen und Mittleren Osten and the Jüdischen Museums.
Reading and discussion with journalist, poet, and author Roya Hakakian on the overlaps between poetry, migration, memory and Jewish identity.
Roya Hakakian was born into a Jewish family in Iran and lived through the Islamic Revolution of 1979 as a teenager. In the face of increasing repression, she applied for political asylum in the U.S. in 1985. Here, she studied psychology and poetry. She first gained significant literary recognition with her autobiography “Journey from the Land of No“, published in 2004 and released in German in 2008.
Further publications followed, including two collections of poetry in Persian. Today, Hakakian works as a journalist and writes primarily on the relationship between Iran and the U.S. In the United States, she is considered one of the most prominent critical voices regarding the Islamic Republic. As an Iranian-Jewish author, she brings a unique perspective to the public discourse.
Since 2015, she has taught at THREAD, a writing workshop at Yale University, and is a fellow at Davenport College.
Moderator: Sarah Kiyanrad, Institute for the Near and Middle East (LMU)
Prior registration is required. Further information can be found on the Jewish Museum’s website.