The Neighbor Says: Nima Yushij and the Philosophy of Modern Persian Poetry

This is a collection of the letters of Nima Yushij (1897-1960), the prominent 20th-century Iranian poet who is regarded as the founder and father of modern Persian poetry. Nima Yushij devoted his life to his art and advocating his innovative style in poetry, mostly through his correspondences. The letters in "The Neighbor Says" are addressed to an imaginary neighbour or acquaintance. Although in many instances he comments on specific poems or stories that are assumed to have been sent to him by the person he addresses in his letters, it gradually becomes clear to the reader that "the Neighbour" might not exist, but that he might be an alter ego of the poet, a device with which the author can expound his ideas about poetry. The importance of the letters lies in the fact that Nima Yushij employs them as a vehicle through which to express his philosophy, ideas and vision for a modern, innovative and revolutionary approach to the art of poetry. In these letters which may serve as his "manifesto" for modern Persian poetry, Nima Yushij discusses, often in detail, what he means by modern prosody; why he more or less but not always abandons the classical rules of versification; how his vision and understanding of modern life and modern man differs from that of his predecessors, (ie: Persian poetic giants such as Rumi, Hafez, Sa'di, Ferdowsi and Nezami). This is the literary tradition that Nima Yushij challenges. He challenges the traditions in the society and the traditional ways not only by writing poetry that sounds strange and unfamiliar; is difficult to understand, as many of his contemporary readers were inclined to believe, and breaking the traditional rules of prosody and diction; but also introducing his own rules of prosody and a new poetic vocabulary. The volume also includes an essay on an important, usually neglected aspect of the writings of Nima Yushij, namely his short stories, which should be considered indispensable to an under-standing and appreciation of his poetry.