Woman Life Freedom: a reading

Woman Life Freedom: a reading

Woman Life Freedom: Poems for the Iranian Revolution, edited by Bänoo Zan & Cy Strom, is an anthology that marks a world-historical moment: the first ever feminist revolution. Woman Life Freedom is the slogan chanted by the demonstrators in Iran. This anthology echoes that cry. Its poems are reflections on the present moment, denunciations of injustice, examinations of the poets’ own consciences, laments for the fallen, bitter curses, prayers, celebrations of life, and visions of a better future. Forty poets and translators living on four continents are represented. The poems are ordered by theme: Beginnings, Defiance, Struggle, Witness, and Futures. The Introduction by Cy Strom sets the scene with a brief look at the situation in Iran and touches on themes of poetry, the arts and revolution; the Afterword by Bänoo Zan, titled “Against the Tyranny of Home: A Call for (Self-)Critique,” argues that honesty and accountability are needed to initiate meaningful change in the countries that have been exporting immigrants and refugees, as well as the places where they have settled. With this brave anthology, the editors and contributors aim to raise awareness of the women’s revolution in Iran and demonstrate to the world that this cause is alive and will not be put down.Bänoo Zan is a poet, translator, essayist, and poetry curator, with over 300 published pieces and three books including Songs of Exile and Letters to My Father. She is the founder of Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night), Canada’s most diverse and brave poetry open mic series (inception 2012). Bänoo is the recipient of the 2025 Freedom to Read Award by the Writers’ Union of Canada. Cy Strom has edited in different genres and sometimes languages and has had a role in developing professional editorial standards and educational materials. He holds graduate degrees in early modern European history from Columbia University and has published in academic and other areas, including a chapter in the dazzling art monograph Oscar Cahén.