Persian literature

Prose and poetry of Iran, in Persian or Arabic, with ancient roots. The 11th-century poet Omar Khayyám, who is well known outside Iran, is considered less important there. Censorship has been a problem at various times.

Ancient Before the Arab conquest, Persian literature is represented by the sacred books of Zoroastrianism known as the Avesta and later translated into Pahlavi, in which language there also appeared various secular writings. After the conquest the use of Arabic became widespread.

Classical The Persian language was revived during the 9th century, and the following centuries saw a succession of brilliant poets, including the epic writer Firdawsi, the didactic S'adi (1184-1291), the mystic Rumi (1207-1273), the lyrical Hâfiz, and Jami, who combined the gifts of his predecessors and is considered the last of the classical poets. In the 16th and 17th centuries many Persian writers worked in India, still using classical forms and themes.

Modern The introduction of the printing press in the 19th century made possible a new newspaper culture, although hampered by censorship and limited readership, through which much literary work was published. Histories and translations soon followed, in a prose increasingly open to Western influences. Persian poetry, strongly traditional, blending classical courtly idiom with popular ballad and lampoon, was widely diffused among an only partly literate audience which discouraged the development of new forms despite the cautious innovations of Nīmā-yi Yūshīj (1895-1959). The alienation and isolation of the poet who has broken with tradition was poignantly expressed by the poet and film-maker Furūgh Farrukhzād (1935-1967). Since the 1930s, realist fiction has become established. After the Iranian revolution of 1979 some important works, such as Shusha Guppy's autobiographical The Blindfold Horse 1988, were written and published abroad.