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

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sedarat, Roger, 1971- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

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

Emerson, Ralph Waldo.

American poetry--Persian influences.

American poetry.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (232 pages)

Place of Publication:

Albany, New York : 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:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781438474878

1438474873