Writing to Save Memory, Myth, and Ritual? With Moniro Ravanipour

Moniro Ravanipour
February 4, 2020

“The Drowned is the translation of Moniro Ravanipour’s first novel, Ahl-e Gharq (1989), which brought her overnight nationwide recognition in Iran a decade after the tumultuous Islamic Revolution and a year after the devastating Iran-Iraq War. In general, in this novel, Ravanipour taps the rich culture of southwestern Iran, the region most affected by the destruction of the war, and more specifically, that of Jofreh, the village of her birth, and its inhabitants’ lives, customs, beliefs, superstitions, and struggles for survival.”

Moniro Ravanipour was born in the village of Jofreh. When she was 10, her family moved to Bushehr. She received her B.A in Psychology from Pahlavi University. These locations had a significant impact on her writing. She started writing after the Iranian Revolution but was not able to publish her first book for eight years. Her family was involved in the Revolution; her brother was killed and many other family members, including herself, were arrested.

Moniro describes her first night in jail as a turning point for her: “I thought they’d kill me and nobody would find out. I thought if I’d taken writing seriously and had acquired fame, they couldn’t kill me so easily, so I promised myself to never stop writing if I got out of jail.” She has written many novels, short stories, and poems. She has presented all around the world and several of her short stories are translated into many languages.

Part of the Stanford Festival of Iranian Arts.