Tal'at Bassari ( fa, طلعت بصاري, 1923 – 18 September 2020), was an Iranian Bahai poet,

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, academic, and writer.

Biography

Born in the city of

Babol Babol ( fa, بابل, , known as "Orange Blossom City" , also Romanized as Bābol; formerly known as Barfrouch) is the capital of Babol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. Babol is divided into two metropolitan areas (under Iranian law). At the ...

along the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

, Bassari received a PhD in

Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

and lectured at secondary schools in the Iranian capital

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. She was the first woman to be appointed as vice-chancellor of a university in Iran when she worked at the

Jondishapur University The Academy of Gondishapur ( fa, فرهنگستان گندی‌شاپور, Farhangestân-e Gondišâpur), also known as the Gondishapur University (دانشگاه گندی‌شاپور Dânešgâh-e Gondišapur), was one of the three Sasanian ...

Ahvaz Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is hom ...

, during the 1960s. The university was instated in the 20th century by the

Pahlavi dynasty The Pahlavi dynasty ( fa, دودمان پهلوی) was the last Iranian royal dynasty, ruling for almost 54 years between 1925 and 1979. The dynasty was founded by Reza Shah Pahlavi, a non-aristocratic Mazanderani soldier in modern times, who ...

to commemorate the ancient Sassanian academy of

Gundeshapur Gundeshapur ( pal, 𐭥𐭧𐭩𐭠𐭭𐭣𐭩𐭥𐭪𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, ''Weh-Andiōk-Šābuhr''; New Persian: , ''Gondēshāpūr'') was the intellectual centre of the Sassanid Empire and the home of the Academy of Gundishapur, founde ...

. In the aftermath of the

Islamic revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

in Iran and because of her Bahai faith, she was dismissed from her university position and eventually migrated to the United States. Bassari published extensive critiques on Persian literature including the national epic

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,00 ...

written by the celebrated Persian poet

Ferdowsi Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a sin ...

. Her critiques have been listed by prominent Iranian historian

Iraj Afshar Iraj Afshar ( fa, ایرج افشار; 8 October 1925 – 9 March 2011) was a bibliographer, historian, scholar, professor, and an iconic figure in the field of Persian studies. Afshar was a professor emeritus of the University of Tehran. He ...

as recommended descriptive reading surrounding the literature of Shahnameh. In 2018, she published a 347-page book titled ''Women of Shahnameh'' (

Ketabsara Ketab Sara Co. () sometimes written as Ketabsara, is a global publishing house founded in December 1981, in Tehran, Iran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of arou ...

; 2018) that studied the female characters in the epic. Each character is individually analysed and include Soudabeh the wife of the

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

Kay Kāvus Kay Kāvus ( fa, کی‌کاووس; ae, 𐬐𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬌 𐬎𐬯𐬀𐬥 Kauui Usan); sometimes ''Kai-Káús'' or ''Kai-Kaus'', Firdawsī, ''The Sháh námeh of the Persian poet Firdausí''. Oriental Translation Fund. Volume 21 of Publicat ...

Tahmineh use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Kingdom of Samangan , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , ...

the wife of the protagonist

Rostam use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = Kabulistan , death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a wel ...

, Gordafarid a champion who symbolised courage and hope to women, and

Faranak Farānak ( fa, فَرانَک) is a female character in the Persian epic ''Shahnameh''. She is married to Abtin and the mother of Fereydun. Etymology Farânak is derived from the word ''Parvâneh'', which means "butterfly" in Persian. Like many ...

, mother to

Fereydoun use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , burial_place ...

who is a hero from the Kingdom of Varna. In 1967, she had also published a biography on

Zandokht Shirazi Zandokht Shirazi/ Zanddokht Shirazi ( fa, زندخت / زنددخت شیرازی; 1909 – 1953), was a prominent Iranian feminist, poet, school teacher and women's rights activist.Sanasarian, Eliz Biography Her birthname was Fakhrolmoluk and sh ...

, a pioneer in the feminist movement in Iran. She resided in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. She also worked on the editorial board of the New Jersey-based magazine, Persian Heritage. She identified as Bahai. Bassari also assisted in books on the life of the influential Persian Bahai poet

Táhirih Táhirih (Ṭāhira) ( fa, طاهره, "The Pure One," also called Qurrat al-ʿAyn ( "Solace/Consolation of the Eyes") are both titles of Fatimah Baraghani/Umm-i Salmih (1814 or 1817 – August 16–27, 1852), an influential poet, women's rights ...

, and contributed with Persian to English translations in academia.

Recognition

A portrait of her was amongst those exhibited at the ''Women of Persia'' art exhibit in

Issaquah Highlands Issaquah Highlands is a planned community and mixed-use neighborhood in Issaquah, a suburb of Seattle, Washington, United States. The neighborhood, located northeast of downtown Issaquah at Grand Ridge on the Sammamish Plateau, was planned in th ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, United States of America.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basari, Talat Iranian feminists 20th-century Iranian poets Iranian writers Iranian critics Academy of Gondishapur faculty 1923 births 2020 deaths Shahnameh Researchers People from Babol Iranian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Iranian women 21st-century Iranian women 21st-century Iranian poets

Biography

Recognition

See also

References