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Iranian Women Poets Conference Nov. 14 - 15

PLATTSBURGH, NY __The State University of New York College at Plattsburgh will host an Iranian Women Poets Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 14 and 15, in the Hyman and Frances Krinovitz Recital Hall, Hawkins Hall. The conference, which will feature the life and work of legendary Iranian poet, Forough Farrokhzad, on the 40th anniversary of her death, includes film showings, live performances, discussions and music. All events are free and open to the public.

Special conference guests include Miloufar Talebi, award-winning translator, performer, filmmaker and founder of The Translation Project, and Maryam Habibian, actor, artistic director, translator, scholar and filmmaker.

The conference opens with an introduction by Dr. Patricia Higgins, associate vice president for academic affairs, on Tuesday, Nov. 14. The afternoon session, from 2 to 4 p.m., also features a presentation by Habibian, a showing of her documentary film, "Farrokhzad, Young Revolutionary," and a question and answer period.

The evening session, from 8 to 10 p.m., will include a 22-minute poetic documentary by Farrokhzad, titled, "The House is Black," about a leper colony, followed by a film about Farrokhzad, "The Green Cold," and a discussion of the two films led by Habibian and Talebi.

The second day of the conference, Wednesday, Nov. 15, begins at 2 p.m. with the film, "The Mirror of the Soul," by Nasser Saffarian, followed by a showing of Talebi's film, "Midnight Approaches," which is based on poetry of contemporary Iranian women poets. A panel discussion on women in Iranian culture and the role of poetry will follow featuring Dr. Alexis Levitin, professor of English; Dr. Taher Zandi, distinguished service professor of psychology and director of the Alzheimer's Disease Assistance Center; Shahbanoo Zandi; Higgins; Talebi; and Habibian.

The Wednesday evening session begins at 8 p.m. with a dramatic reading of contemporary Iranian poetry by Talebi with musical accompaniment by master santour player, Javad Davari, and tonbak player, Ali Heshmati Moghaddam. Talebi will then give a presentation on contemporary Iranian poetry followed by a question and answer period.

The conference is sponsored by the Office of the President and the Office of the Dean of Arts and Science. For more information, contact Dr. Alexis Levitin at 518-564-2426.
 
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