Ardavan Tabatabaï Publishes Debut Poetry Collection 'Entre deux souffles'

Franco-Iranian poet Ardavan Tabatabaï has released his first poetry collection, 'Entre deux souffles: le visible et l'invisible', published by L'Harmattan. The 91-page volume, priced at €12, draws on themes of exile, love, homeland, and oppression by the Tehran regime. Tabatabaï, who won the 2013 Grand Prix de l'Association Pierre et Soleil for his poem 'Ma vie, l'exil', has his verses inscribed on a stele in the Hérault valley's sentier des poètes. The collection is dedicated to the 'lions et lionesses d'Iran' and includes the viral poem 'Iran malédiction', which criticizes the theocratic regime. Tabatabaï's work is influenced by Persian poets Rumi, Saadi, Hafez, and Omar Khayyam, as well as contemporary French poetry. Born in 1959, he left Iran with his family in 1978 and has lived in Paris since age nine. Signing events are scheduled for September 19 at FNAC Boulogne and September 26 at 21 bis rue des Écoles, Paris.