In today's world, with its often fluid national borders, many
outstanding literary works have given voice to the life experience of
immigrants, whose very being challenges traditional notions of national
identity and culture. The recent immigration of Iranians all over the
world has carved a space for a distinctly Iranian version of this vital
wellspring of contemporary writing. The stories in this collection are
varied in their voices and themes and treat a number of issues such as
national identity, gender, race, and class. Some capture childhood
recollections; others reminisce about the homeland and the life left
behind. There are stories about the obstacles and problems of adapting
to a new culture, and there are others that speak of new opportunities
in new homelands. All of them reflect efforts to reinvent new and
multiple identities, as well as multicultural and borderless spaces. The
editors introduce these stories with a detailed discussion of the
theoretical and literary characteristics of this Iranian literature of
migration. The authors include both established and new voices: Fahimeh
Farsaie, Dariush Karegar, Nasim Khaksar, Farideh Kheradmand, Pari
Mansuri, Mehrnoush Mazarei, Qodsi Qazinur, Marjan Riahi, Said, Azar
Shahab, Mahasti Shahrokhi, Mohammad Asef Soltanzadeh, and Goli Taraqi.