The Last Kiss: Poetry, Exile and Everyday Life in Iran

What does everyday life look like under repression — and how can poetry make it visible?

At this event, poet Mehdi Mousavi joins us for an evening that brings audiences closer to lived experiences inside Iran through literature. His work offers a rare perspective: not as distant analysis, but as something immediate, personal, and deeply human.

Drawing on classical Persian poetic traditions, Mousavi has developed a distinct voice that uses form itself as a way of pushing back against control and censorship. His poetry reflects the realities of constraint, fear, and resistance, while remaining grounded in the textures of ordinary life.

The evening will combine readings and conversation, opening up questions around exile, freedom of expression, and the role of literature in confronting repression. Through this, the event invites a deeper understanding of how culture and language continue to evolve under pressure — and how writers find ways to speak.

The Last Kiss, Mousavi’s bilingual Persian–English collection published by Sic Publishing, will be available at the event.

Further details on participants and programme will be announced.