91制片厂

91制片厂 Hosts Afghan Scholar for Fall Semester


By na | 8/24/2022

91制片厂鈥檚 Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Center for Global Engagement, and Center for Peace, Justice, and Human Rights (PJHR) are sponsoring Mujib Mehrdad, a scholar from Afghanistan, for the fall semester. Mehrdad will be housed within the Department of English as a research scholar through the , an NGO that arranges for universities in North America and Europe to host threatened scholars from around the globe.

Mehrdad is an acclaimed poet, writer, translator and journalist who specializes in English literature and cultural studies. His books of poetry include 鈥淕ladiators Are Still Dying,鈥 which won the 2007 Afghan Civil Society鈥檚 literature contest, as well as 鈥淭he Fish Have Fled Our Veins鈥 and 鈥淎udience.鈥 Mehrdad also published a collection of essays, 鈥淭he Rain Passed,鈥 and translated into Dari the work of American poets such as Allen Ginsberg, Sylvia Plath and Langston Hughes. Mehrdad served on the board of the literary organization, Kashane Nawesendagan (House of Authors), taught Persian literature at Al-Beroni University in Afghanistan, and edited Afghanistan鈥檚 largest daily newspaper, Hasht-e Subh (8 a.m.).

Mehrdad also has held international residencies, including in the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. In 2021, Mehrdad鈥檚 most recent collection of poetry, 鈥淒olphin鈥檚 Alley (Kucha-e Dolphinha),鈥 won the prestigious Ahmad Shamlou Poetry Award for best collection of the year in Tehran, Iran.

Mehrdad has used his scholarship, writing and community engagement work to advance progressive ideals in Afghanistan, including promoting women鈥檚 rights and fighting against human rights鈥 abuses. Like many Afghans, Mehrdad became a target of the Taliban when the Afghan government fell during the U.S. withdrawal from the country in August 2021. He and his family were forced to leave the country for their safety.

鈥淧JHR鈥檚 mission is to make a positive contribution to the advancement of peace and nonviolence, social justice and human rights through our teaching, research, programming and community engagement,鈥 said Kelly Shannon, Ph.D., PJHR鈥檚 executive director. 鈥淚 can think of no better way of fulfilling our mission than assisting an Afghan scholar who has risked his own safety in the name of human rights. I鈥檓 sorry about the circumstances that bring him to 91制片厂, but I am happy that he is able to join us this semester.鈥

PJHR and the Department of English will host a poetry reading for Mehrdad at 91制片厂 on Wednesday Sept.14. For more information, visit PJHR website or email pjhr@fau.edu.

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