TEHRAN -- An album of Persian translations of Langston Hughes poetry, narrated by Iranian poet Ahmad Shamlu, has been released by the Mahur Institute on an album entitled “Poems of Langston Hughes”.

Shamlu recited his own translations of Hughes’ poems in Persian in the album which is composed of two sections.
The first part is dedicated to music based on poetry by Hughes played by the guitarists Peyman Fakhrian and Leili Mortazavi.
In the second part, Shamlu recites Persian translations of “Harlem”, “Aunt Sues Stories”, “In Time of Silver Rain”, “Little Green Tree” and several other poems by Hughes.
“The collection was recorded at Shamlu’s residence in Karaj’s Fardis district. We had planned to record his recitation of poems by Federico García Lorca, Yannis Ritsos and Jacques Prévert but only the latter was possible due to his untimely death,” the director of Mahur Institute Mohammad Musavi mentioned in the cover of the album.
He also expressed thanks for the cooperation of Shamlu’s widow, Ayda Sarkisian, in producing the album.
Langston Hughes (1902–1967) was an American novelist, playwright, short story writer, and columnist. He is best-known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance.
Photo: Cover of a copy of “Poems of Langston Hughes” album