Arts page, Fat’h daily 16 March 2000

The first collection of poems by Abbas Kiarostami is to be published in Tehran today.

Few know that apart from filmmaking, photography and painting, Kiarostami also writes poetry. “With the Wind”, Kiarostami’s first book of poetry which covers 240 pages, is to be published by Honar Publishers, chaired by Manijeh Miremadi.

In an introduction to the book, Morteza Kakhi writes: “One should get accustomed to Kiarostami’s poems gradually…His poetry is alert, rooted and chaste. It is based on yesterday, but looks at tomorrow, and moves in a path which will be the avenue of tomorrow’s credible poetry…Kiarostami’s poetry is the child of the earth, and the narration of life and nothing more.”

One of the poems of the collection:

In pursuit of a mirage
I reached water
without a feeling of thirst

Translated for Payvand by Kaveh Basmenji
Kavbas@altavista.net