Emerson in Iran : the American appropriation of Persian poetry / Roger Sedarat.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sedarat, Roger, 1971- author.

Contributor:

Anne and Joseph Trachtman Memorial Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Persian literature.

American poetry.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882--Knowledge and learning--Persian literature.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882.

American poetry--Persian influences.

American poetry--19th century--History and criticism.

Persian literature--Influence.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xi, 218 pages ; 24 cm

Other Title:

American appropriation of Persian poetry

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, [2019]

Summary:

"Emerson in Iran offers the first full-length study of Persian influence in the work of the seminal American poet, philosopher, and translator. Extending the current trend in transnational studies back to the figural origins of both the United States and Iran, insightful comparative readings of Platonism and Sufi mysticism help explain how Emerson managed to reconcile through poetry two countries so seemingly different in religion, philosophy, and politics. Tracking Emerson's various rhetorical strategies through his own interrogation of language and critical readings of literature exposes what can be considered the sustained development of a latent but considerable translation theory. Emerson's practical application of such a theory in his approach to Hafez and Sa'di further demonstrates the extent to which Persian poetry becomes generative in his own nineteenth century, and how such formative effects continue into America's contemporary verse tradition"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

From Plato to Persia: Emerson's transnational origins

Transparent eyeball/Persian Mirror

Imitation as suicide: Islamic fatalism and the paradox of self-reliance

The subversion of equivalence: Emerson's translation theory in praxis

Americanizing Rumi and Hafez: the return of Emerson's verse translation

The other side of the Persian mirror: Emerson's gaze as necessary corrective.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Anne and Joseph Trachtman Memorial Book Fund.

ISBN:

9781438474854

1438474857

OCLC:

1078762515