A Night of Persian Poetry

Third Place Books welcomes Adeeba Talukder, Niloufar Talebi, Aria Fani, and Amelia Ossorio to our Ravenna store for a reading featuring Aria and Adeeba's translation of by Bijan Jalali and Niloufar's translation of Elegies of the Earth by Ahmad Shamlou.

This event is free and open to the public. For important updates, RSVP is highly recommended in advance. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured books!

This event is free to attend. Registration is recommended in advance.

Please note: While RSVP helps us anticipate attendance, your RSVP may not guarantee a seat. Seating is first-come, first-served, and all events at our Ravenna neighborhood store are free and open to the public. Only standing room may be available for events with high interest.

We are happy to accommodate any accessibility concerns. Please contact us at [email protected] or call our Ravenna store at (206) 525-2347.

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.

A sweeping centennial edition of Iran’s iconic twentieth-century poet of liberty, whose work shaped modern Persian poetry.

Known for his political engagement and deep humanism, and his pivotal role in Persian poetry’s modernist turn toward free verse, Ahmad Shamlou (1925–2000) crafted poems that carried both lyrical intimacy and cultural force. A central, defiant voice in Iran’s modern literary history, Shamlou championed the power of poetry as an instrument of liberation. His work, long suppressed in his homeland, remains urgent for readers everywhere confronting censorship, exile, and erasure. This bilingual edition honors Shamlou’s centennial with the most expansive selection of his poetry to date in English, encompassing his wide thematic range: from fierce protest to intimate love, mythic storytelling to existential reflection. Niloufar Talebi’s vibrant translations and deeply researched commentary shine new light on Shamlou’s legacy and his relevance today.

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.

One of the most influential cultural figures of Iran in the latter half of the twentieth century, Ahmad Shamlou (1925–2000) authored more than 70 books, including 18 volumes of poetry. Sometimes known by his pen name, Alef Bamdad, Shamlou’s innovations brought on a transition from classical forms to free verse and made him a flag-bearer of the Iranian vanguard, which included the poet Forough Farrokhzad. Shamlou’s synthesis of Eastern and Western poetic traditions and high and low styles democratized the literary mode without simplifying it. Championing the “everyman,” Shamlou’s work reflects his deep engagement with social issues and the human condition.

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 an author, award-winning translator, multidisciplinary creator, and Fulbright U.S. Scholar. She edited and translated Elegies of the Earth: Selected Poems by Ahmad Shamlou (World Poetry Books, 2025), the most comprehensive bilingual edition of the revolutionary Iranian poet in English, supported by a National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship. Her Shamlou-inspired projects include the memoir Self-Portrait in Bloom and the opera Abraham in Flames (music by Aleksandra Vrebalov). Talebi also edited and translated Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians Around the World (North Atlantic Books). Her performance works, including Fire Angels, Epiphany, and The Persian Rite of Spring, have been commissioned or presented by Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Stanford Live, among others. A TEDx speaker and instructor in Stanford Continuing Studies, she is a Lucas Artist in Residence at the Montalvo Arts Center.

Aria Fani is an assistant professor of Persian and Iranian studies at the University of Washington, where he co-convenes the Translation Studies Hub. His first book, Reading across Borders: Afghans, Iranians, and Literary Nationalism (University of Texas Press, 2024), was translated into Persian by Shirazeh Press in Iran. Outside of academia, he advocates for non-citizen Americans, focusing on asylum seekers from Central America.

Amelia Ossorio is an illustrator from Seattle who creates vibrant and playful designs that invite curiosity and nostalgia. She studies Persian at the University of Washington’s Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures department and is one of Aria Fani’s students. Her work draws inspiration from a wide range of contemporary artists that emphasize self-reflection and freedom, including Forugh Farrokhzad and Frida Kahlo. She often incorporates symbols from nature, colorful scenes from life, and memories into her illustrations. Ossorio’s art can be found online under the name @sensitive.cactus.

Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events.

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