The Last Kiss – Pre Order

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.