2024 - Mehdi Mousavi
Mehdi Mousavi (1976) is one of the most prominent Iranian diaspora poets and writers whose work has been translated in many languages. Around a quarter of a million people are following his works on social media.
Mousavi has been a leading figure in postmodern poetry in Iran, publishing 18 poetry collections and novels, and inspiring and mentoring numerous young artists through his teaching of literature at universities and colleges. He has led underground classes in literature, creative writing, philosophy, and humanities to young artists for over 16 years, continuing to do so online while in exile. Additionally, he has organised literature festivals and written lyrics for Iranian singers. Many of his poems have been performed by various singers, and some of his poems and stories have been translated and published in Norwegian, English, Spanish, Dutch, German, etc. Recently, a selection of his poems called Blood-soaked liberty square has even been translated into Hebrew and published in Israel. His bilingual upcoming poetry collection, The Last Kiss, in Farsi and English, will be published by Sic Publishing in the spring of 2025.
Mousavi was arrested for his literary works in 2013, sentenced to nine years in prison plus 99 lashes based on statements obtained while under torture. He escaped from Iran in December 2015. In 2017, he came to Norway as a guest artist with the help of ICORN, the IInternational Cities of Refuge Network of which Passa Porta is a member, too.
I am not a terrorist is the title of his autobiographical novel that he will be working on during his residency in Brussels. It chronicles parts of his life from December 2013 and his arrest and imprisonment in Iran to January 2017 and the start of his migration to Norway. The novel is also a reflection of the social and political situation of contemporary Iran. It attempts to examine psychological and sociological aspects of phenomena like prison, torture, immigration, and art in exile by shifting back and forth in time.