The Mirror of My Heart, an anthology translated from Persian by Dick Davis, is composed of verses from eighty-three Persian women poets, many of whom originally wrote anonymously or risked facing punishment for their outspokenness.
In celebration of National Poetry Month (and March’s Women’s History Month and Persian New Year), the Penguin Random House Audio staff read and listened to The Mirror of My Heart together.
Read on to find out what we thought about the writing of these incredible women of the past:
“I’m so happy that this book is out and available to the general public. There are probably many readers, listeners, and poetry fans who have never heard of this amazing group of Persian female poets (myself included!). I was particularly fond of the poems by Jahan Malek Khatun, who was quite prolific for a female poet in her day. Mozhan Marno, Tala Ashe and Serena Manteghi did a beautiful job of bringing the diverse range of emotions and perspectives expressed in this book to life, and I feel fortunate to have been able to produce this audiobook.”–Amber Beard, audiobook producer of The Mirror of My Heart
“Listening while reading along to The Mirror of My Heart was a great experience. Not only did I learn a lot of Persian history I didn’t know, but I was also surprised, delighted, and moved by the intimacy and expanse poems and the boldness of the poets.” –Taraneh Djangi, Associate Director, Marketing
The Mirror of My Heart is brimming with romantic gestures, sexual liberation, wine, flowers and so much more. I was seduced and thoroughly impressed by these sex positive feminist poets and how they explored their bodies, sexual desires and demands for equality through language. I couldn’t believe that after 1,000+ years women are still writing about the same things! This is the perfect collection of poems to help you slip into spring and celebrate women empowerment and National Poetry Month. –Alexis Patterson, Manager, Strategic Events & Special Projects
The Mirror of my Heart was the most surprising audiobook I’ve listened to in a long while; I had no prior knowledge of Persian poetry of any kind, and didn’t expect thousand year old verses to be as powerful and intimate as they are. The poems, heightened by the audiobook narration, are sex forward and positive feminist declarations: they’re bold, deep, and smart with just the right amount of raunch. How every poem should be.–Erin Murphy, Creative Marketing Associate
Listen to a clip of The Mirror of My Heart:
