TEHRAN -- Tehran’s Al-Zahra University is to hold a seminar to review the centennial poetry of world Persian-speaking female poets in late May.

“Poetesses from Tajikistan, Afghanistan, India and several other countries are to get together at the university,” said secretary of the seminar Fatemeh Rakei.
“We are inviting prominent poetesses in order to become familiar with the poetry by Persian-speaking female poets from outside the country,” Rakei added.
“The seminar emerged as a result of our feeling a necessity that female poets need to be introduced more emphatically, despite their active presence in the world contemporary literature.
“We intend to focus exclusively on the poetry of female poets, since over the past few years, their positions have not been clearly distinguished and critics’ reviews tend to focus on their ideology rather than upon their literary accomplishments.
“Invitations have been published and distributed at various universities and are available on some academies’ websites. The interested applicants are asked to submit their articles within a month-long period,” she explained.
The articles will later be selected and judged by the academic members of the seminar.
All scholars and critics are also invited to take part in the seminar, she said, adding that an exhibition of outstanding works by the female poets will also be set up during the program.
The seminar is cosponsored by the Al-Zahra University, Iran’s Academy of Art, the cultural department of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the Council for Promotion of Persian Language and Literature, and the Iranian Poets Society.