Atefe Asadi: The power of literature in challenging totalitarianism
A recipient of the Hannah Arendt Scholarship, writer, editor, and translator Atefe Asadi from Iran has been the ICORN resident in Hanover since December 2022. Since then, Asadi has continued to reach both old and new audiences, using her literature to challenge totalitarianism in her home country and beyond.
Based in Hanover’s Literaturhaus, Atefe Asadi has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the situation in Iran, addressing issues such as literary censorship, the existence of and challenges to underground literature, and human rights abuses. Asadi has been publicly active both locally in Hanover, in Germany, and internationally, taking part in literary readings, workshops, lectures, school visits, and meetings with politicians and decision makers. Of her school visits, Asadi says:
‘Through my cooperation with the FBK (Der Friedrich-Bödecker-Kreis Niedersachsen) organisation, I have been able to go to various schools in German cities, read poetry, and talk about the current situation in Iran, literature, censorship, and suffocation. This has been one of my favourite things during this residency as it gives me the opportunity to English about the situation in my country.’
One of the highlights of Atefe Asadi’s time in Hanover has been her collaboration with the Weiterschreiben project, an initiative to translate and publish the works of writers in exile. Asadi’s stories, published in both Persian and German, focus on issues such as the impact of war, honour killings, and the treatment of LGBTQI+ people in Iran. You can find Atefe Asadi’s contributions to the Weiterschreiben project here.
As well as her work in Germany, Atefe Asadi has taken part in several international events and festivals, including the World Expression Forum (WEXFO) in Lillehammer, the Safe Havens Conference in Athens. Asadi has also contributed to the last two annual ICORN meetings in Copenhagen (2024) and Brussels (2023), through her participation in the translation project ‘Text in Flight’ and a conversation on the role of Iran’s underground literature. Since leaving Iran and continuing her career in exile, Atefe has also shone light on the challenges of adapting to a new literary scene, language and translation, and artistic identity in a new context.
A vocal critic of the Iranian regime, Atefe has also continued her activism from exile, appearing on German and international media, as well as on diaspora platforms. Asadi has supported causes such as the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement and protested the killings of Iranian writers and intellectuals as well as the general situation in her home country.
Atefe Asadi has been in ICORN residence in Hanover since December 2022 through the Hannah Arendt Scholarship, funded by the city’s cultural department, Literaturhaus Hanover, and private donations.
