Call for Submissions: Persian Passages (Special issue of Southerly)

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Image courtesy of Tahna

Persian speakers from Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan have influenced Australian culture in many ways. What are the evocations of Persian themes in Australian writing and culture? What are the contemporary heirs to Judith Wright’s poem ‘Hafiz of Shiraz’? And what is the image of Australia in contemporary Persian texts? Guest editors Laetitia Nanquette and Ali Alizadeh are calling for submissions of poems, stories, non-fiction and literary papers for a special issue of Southerly focusing on literary transactions between Australian and Persian cultures. The editors are also interested in writings from Iranian, Afghan and Tajik writers engaging with Australia in any way. As the Persian-speaking community is becoming stronger in Australia and its cultural production diversifies, this issue aims to offer to an Australian audience a rich sample of texts and perspectives focusing on Australian-Persian perspectives. This includes but is not limited to:

–       Persia and the contemporary nations of Persian culture (Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan) in the Australian literary imaginary
–       Literary relations and cultural interactions between Australian and Persian-speaking nations
–       Contemporary Australian writers of Persian origin and their texts
–       The reception of Persian texts in Australia
–       New forms of cultural or literary interaction between Persian-speaking cultures and the West
–       New works of creative writing, by authors from any background, that speak to the themes and motifs of Persian culture and history

With academic essays, please keep in mind that Southerly is a journal devoted to Australian literature. Please submit only one story, one personal essay or up to 5 poems, at a time. Short fiction and literary non-fiction texts should be around 2,000-6,000 words. Submissions can be in English or Persian. Please submit your texts online to the correct  “Persian Passages” category in Submittable. You can refer to Southerly’s guidelines here.

Submissions due: 1st September 2016

The issue will be published in April 2017