Book
The Last Kiss
By Mehdi Mousavi
Translated by Fatemeh Ekhtesari and edited by Samuel Tongue
$29.95
Free Shipping to United States
Shipping somewhere else? Change region
🔒 Secure payment via Stripe. No account required.
Delivery information
Shipped from here in Norway. Delivery typically takes 5–10 working days within Europe and 7–14 days internationally.
By Mehdi Mousavi · Translated by Fatemeh Ekhtesari · Edited by Dr. Samuel Tongue
Mehdi Mousavi is one of Iran’s most beloved contemporary poets. Imprisoned and tortured for his writing, he was forced into exile and now lives in Norway. The Last Kiss is his first collection written outside Iran, published here in a bilingual Farsi–English edition.
This is more than a translation. Working closely with Mousavi, translator Fatemeh Ekhtesari and editor Dr. Samuel Tongue have undertaken an intense process of cultural and linguistic research to bring the deeper layers of meaning and imagery into English. The result is a collection that conveys not only the words, but also the texture, rhythm, and emotion of the original.
Through these poems, readers glimpse the everyday lives of Iranians living under repression, and the intimate pain of leaving behind family, friends, and an entire life. Mousavi writes of love, separation, and the exile’s search for belonging, while holding fast to the memory of a homeland that cannot be forgotten.
The Last Kiss is both personal and universal — a testament to poetry’s power to resist silencing, preserve memory, and carry a voice across languages and borders.
★★★★★
“First, I must say that this collection is absolutely a masterpiece.
I found myself immersed in every single word of the poems. I felt the exile, the longing for home, the boundless sorrow and the love that permeates the entire book. I wept with each poem and experienced their deep sadness and love with all my heart. Even if I were to write forever about the beauty and brilliance of this book, words would still fail me. I could never fully express my inner feelings or how profoundly I enjoyed reading every line and every word of these poems. I wished the poems would continue forever, so that I could keep reading them endlessly, filling myself with all the love, sorrow and beauty they contain and losing myself in the pleasure of every letter and every verse.
The translations are extraordinary. The way the beauty of these poems has been carried from one culture to another is truly remarkable. It reflects the tireless dedication and passion of the translators and editors, who have so artistically brought these masterful poems from a completely different cultural tradition into another, allowing readers around the world to experience and enjoy this exceptional work. I also greatly appreciated the decision to place the English poems alongside the Persian originals. It was a wonderful feature of the book and one that I loved immensely.
I absolutely loved this book. I can not express how much I loved it and every poem touched me deeply.”
— Mahboobeh Amoushahi
Reader Reviews
Book Details
