A simurgh (a monstrous mythical bird with the power of reasoning and speech). From Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing, by al-Qazwīnī (d. 1283/682). Courtesy o…
SPECIAL SECTION
Five Younger Women Poets from Azerbaijan
Photo: Clarissa BellTo the Children of WarMornings, they run from the dark along the length of the seashore.Like an iron sword beaten by a blacksmith, the sun reddensas their feet strike the ground.So…
Photo: Robert S. Donovan A Man’s ConfessionThis is not simply loneliness. Your absenceis a terrible and bitter thing.Every night when I return, throwopen the front door, leavebehind all other amu…
Photo: Unsplash We Shall Manage for Rabiqe, who doesn’t like to read sad poemsour teardrops will drywe shall forget even the easiest of rebellions – rebellion against Godwe shall forg…
Bronze statue in Baku’s Fountain Square of a young woman in contemporary attire talking on a mobile phone, erected in 2014. Photo: Alison MandavilleI have broken a cupThere is an ache in every corner…
Photo: Stefan SchweihoferI Scatter Bread Crumbs to the SparrowsFrom my palms spills the joy of sparrows.I call them to the crumbs, Come quickly! and Who will be first?Their frozen bills warm,…
One of several sculptures in Azerbaijan honoringnineteenth-century poet Khurshidbanu Natavan,Nizami Museum of Literature. Photo: Alison MandavilleIn the center of one square in the capital of Baku, Az…
