Modern Iranian Fiction in the United States: Translation, Publication, and Promotion (1979–2022)

My dissertation investigates the translation of modern Iranian writers in the United States. My particular focus is on the fictional works that have been written after the Iranian revolution in 1979. I examine what writers and what works have been translated and what is the place of these writers in the post-revolutionary literary landscape of Iran. I also examine the reception of this translated literature among the American readership through the analysis of the critical reviews in journals and magazines. In addition, I specifically explore the process of transmission and promotion of these literary works through an overview of the translators and the publishers who were involved. I investigate the criteria and motivations of these translators through a study of their educational and professional backgrounds as well as their knowledge of Persian and English. I also study the type of publishers and their editorial and publicity approaches that have played a significant role in the presentation of this literature in the United States. Additionally, I argue about the critical role of the Iranian-American community as well as academia in presenting and promoting this literature in the US. The findings of this research show that the representation of Iranian literature in the United States is an outcome of political, cultural, and economic factors. Based on the results of this study, I argue that although this literature is not under-represented in the American literary translation market, it has remained somehow invisible due to the stereotypical images of media about Iran, the financial challenges of the writers, translators, and publishers, and also the cultural and linguistic differences. However, the constant process of transmitting this literature has never been stopped thanks to the contributions of the Iranian-American community. This research has succeeded in drawing a clear picture of the challenges for the representation and promotion of the translated literature of a minor language in the American literary market.