Ekhtesari, Fatemeh

Fatemeh Ehktesari © Hanne-Kjersti S. Iversen

Fatemeh Ekhtesari is a poet, human rights activist and midwife born in 1986 in Kashmar, Iran. She belongs to the Postmodern Ghasel literary movement, which is considered the most radical poetic movement in Iran today. She is deeply engaged with issues of sexuality, religion and gender, as well as the struggle for women’s rights. After performing at the Gothenburg Poetry Festival, she was imprisoned upon returning to Iran in 2013 and sentenced to 99 lashes and 11 ½ years in prison in 2015 for immoral behavior and blasphemy. In 2016, she managed to escape with Mehdi Mousavi, and since 2017 she has been an ICORN writer in residence in Lillehammer, Norway. Ekhtesari published her first books of poetry in Iran. The debut, published in 2010, fell victim to censorship. In exile, further collections of poetry followed, as well as two volumes of short stories, among others. She is editor-in-chief of the online magazine Independent Iranian Literature.

Festival Content

PERSIAN POETRY IN EUROPEAN EXILE: As much of the fatherland as I’ve got in my suitcase

READING, TALK AND MUSIC – Developments in Iran over the past few decades have forced countless writers into exile, often with little more than their own language in tow. “As much of the fatherland as I have in my suitcase” is a poem about exile by the poet Esmail Kho’i, who passed away in London in 2021.

Abiz, Alireza • Ekhtesari, Fatemeh • Falaki, Mahmood • Schaffa, Mudzgan • Rafani, Roshanak • Aras, Maryam • Abdollahi, Ali • Samawatie, Cymin