Words, Not Swords: Iranian Women Writers and the Freedom of Movement

Acknowledgments

XI Acknowledgments Some of the finest expressions of Iranian artistic talent do not carry the name of a creator. There is great wisdom behind this deliberate refusal to credit a single artist for an artifact. Scheherazade, the ultimate storyteller, inserted with infinite acumen a disclaimer at the very threshold of each story. Following the enigmatic “There was one, and there wasn’t one,” she added: “Other than God, there wasn’t anyone.” The framing sentence, the paradox, and proviso at that magical moment of creation, when the storyteller becomes the literary equivalent of the Creator, provides an apologia and a justification. It also acknowledges the implicit distance between the artist and the art. It permits at the same time as it asks for permission and in the process recognizes the elusive, tantalizing, and collective nature of creative power. Couched in the totality of that couplet is the implicit idea that before the vast immensity of the previously created, the storyteller’s role carries little authority. I have accumulated several debts over the years and benefited from the guidance and scholarship of many family members, colleagues, friends, and students. They have led me in new directions and helped me explore and expand my views. Their insight, their much appreciated counsel, and their generosity of spirit is woven in the warp and woof of this manuscript. I have been the lucky beneficiary of Bahiyyih Nakhjavani and Kaveh Safa’s infinite magnanimity, profound intellectual acuity, and expansive vision. They have read and reread several versions of each chapter, helped me to hone my arguments , and led me to rewarding destinations. I could not have hoped for a reader more learned or scrupulous than Shahla Haeri, who suggested important changes and improvements. My good friends and colleagues Rae Blumberg and Zjaleh Hajibashi read the whole manuscript and offered invaluable comments and astute criticisms. Ruhi Ramazani and Nesta Ramazani never tired of listening, enlightening , and encouraging. XII • ACK N OW LED G M EN T S Friends and colleagues have supported this project in numerous and various ways. I am especially grateful to Afsar Adl, Heidi Akbarzadeh, Fati Aman, Negar Azmudeh, Hanadi Al-Samman, Homa Arvand, Amin Banani, Homa Bahrami, Mitra Bakhsha, Michael Beard, Janet Beizer, Charlotte Crystal, Farideh Farjam, Jessica Feldman, Michael Fisher, Cassandra Fraser, Mahdokht Guilani, Faezzeh Ghadiri, Scott Harrop, Bob Hueckstedt, Deborah Johnson, Mahnaz Kousha, Ann Lane, Parviz Mafi, Negar Mahmoodzadegan, Nahid Massali, Jila Malekzad, Mary McKinley, Deborah McDowell, Mahvash Milani, Romak Milani, Kenny Morrata, Barbara Noland, Jean Nylan, Pari Nikpey, Jahan Ramazani, Vahid Ramazani, Caroline Rody, Zahra Shadman, Chahla Shafiq, Fatemeh Shahidi, Lisa Spaar, Parvaneh Uskowi, Elizabeth Thompson, Denise Walsh, Sheida White, and Rina Williams. Several colleagues granted me the privilege to discuss the findings in this book in workshops, talks, and conferences and to benefit from their own scholarship and that of engaging audiences. I have also benefited from the dedication and brilliance of several research assistants—in particular Elizabeth Walsh and Marie Ostby. Mary Selden Evans, always welcoming, always wise and committed to excellence , is the proverbial angel at a university press. With the help of Kelly Balenske and Lisa Kuerbis, she shepherded this manuscript through various phases and permutations. Annie Barva is the ideal copy editor, unintrusive but eagle-eyed. This project has been supported by several summer grants from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and the Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia. A University Seminar Teaching Award, a sabbatical leave, and a fellowship by the National Endowment for the Humanities availed me of concentrated time to devote to this project. The publication of Words, Not Swords was made possible in part by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. I am especially grateful to Patricia Rosenfield and her effortless grace and genuine commitment to accessible, jargon-free scholarship. My father, Mahmud Milani, and my mother, Zinat Shadman Milani, devoted their lives to the education of their children. No words can express my love for them or my admiration and gratitude for their many silent sacrifices. From my earliest memories, my brothers—Hossein, Hassan, Abbas, and Mohsen—have been a source of delight and unconditional love. Their kindness, their intellectual sustenance, and their unwavering support have nourished me and my work ACK N OW LED G M EN T S • XIII in innumerable and various ways. My love for them, like my debt to them, is enormous. I...