The Poet's Daughter: Malek o'Shoara Bahar of Iran and the Immortal Song of Freedom

They called it “Paradise,” their beautiful home just outside old Tehran, and nurtured there a close bond of mutual love and respect for intellectual freedom. It was a magnet for leading thinkers and activists, who visited regularly for conversation with their best living poet and tireless champion of democracy, human rights, and women’s empowerment—Malek o’Shoara Bahar. Then one morning the children watched in horror as police dragged him away . . .

Intimate and emotionally engaging, this powerful and timely memoir introduces western readers to the high-profile Iranian hero Malek o’Shoara Bahar—whose freedom poem “Morghe Sahar” (“Bird of the Dawn”) is sung regularly with great passion at rallies for human rights throughout Iran. Bahar (1882–1951) tuned his political idealism and vast poetic gifts to Iranian’s deepest feelings, championing democracy, freedom, and social justice. He is revered internationally by progressive Iranians and celebrated as Iran’s best poet of the 20th century, many say of the past 500 years.