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"Terrestrial Verses" on the borderline: an interdisciplinary decolonial reading of Forugh Farrokhzad and Frida Kahlo

The Arts

"Terrestrial Verses" on the borderline: an interdisciplinary decolonial reading of Forugh Farrokhzad and Frida Kahlo

S. Z. Moosavi

This article by Seyedeh Zahra Moosavi delves into the intricate social and historical contexts of Forugh Farrokhzad's works and their ties to Frida Kahlo's art, uncovering overlooked decolonial themes in Persian literature during a period marked by the Iranian leprosy epidemic and colonial impacts post-WWI.

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Playback language: English
Abstract
This article examines the social and historical underpinnings of Forugh Farrokhzad's poem "Terrestrial Verses" (1962) and her documentary film *The House is Black* (1962) in relation to Frida Kahlo's painting, *Self-Portrait on the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States* (1932). The comparison between neocolonial Mexico and postcolonial Iran reveals a decolonial paradigm in Farrokhzad's work often overlooked in Persian literary studies. The analysis highlights the politics, worldview, and decolonization visions expressed by both artists, focusing on the Iranian leprosy epidemic as an unintended consequence of the "colonial matrix of power" during WWI.
Publisher
Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
Published On
Feb 22, 2024
Authors
Seyedeh Zahra Moosavi
Tags
Forugh Farrokhzad
Frida Kahlo
decolonial studies
Persian literature
colonialism
cultural analysis
epidemics
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