Chiusi welcomes Guest Writers from Iran

Iranian Sepideh Jodeyri is a poet and journalist and her husband Eshan Abedi has worked for many Iranian reformist newspapers as a journalist, he is also a poet, writer and litterary critic.
 
Jodeyri's first book, Dream of the Amphibious Girl, a collection of poems, was published in 2000, followed by Logical, a collection of short stories, in 2001. In 2006 she published The Raven, a selection of Edgar Allan Poe's poems translated into Persian. Jodeyri's second collection of poems, Some pink inclined to my blood, was published in 2007, and she has written another collection of poems which has been banned from publication in Iran. Her poetry has been translated into English, Swedish and Dutch. In March 2008 she founded Khorshid, the Iranian Women's Poetry Prize. She is also a member of the (now banned) Association of Iranian Journalists and has published literary articles in several Iranian journals and newspapers, including Etemad e Melli, Yas e no and the Sarve website.

Eshan Abedi has been subject to censorship and harassment throughout his journalistic career. Over ten newspapers he has worked for have been closed down by the Iranian authorities, amidst a crackdown on Iran's burgeoning reformist press which has seen over one hundred reformist and independent publications banned since 2000. Abedi has published a collection of poems, Lost in the Room, and he has worked for the campaign of the current opposition leader Mousavi. Both Jodeyri and Abedi have experienced censorship, friends have been arrested and they have been forced into exile.

Deputy Mayor of Chiusi, Fausto Bardini, welcomes their new Guest Writers saying to local Italian media that the city values the importance of working with Guest Writers. Bardini believes that the region and its citizens will gain valuable experience and awareness by being their hosts.