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| Leyli Khudayi, the poet from South Azerbaijan talks about her book Dumanlı Məktublar (Foggy Letters) |
"The sections where I used the words 'Araz' and 'Savalan' were removed from my book," says Leili Khodaei, a poet and writer from South Azerbaijan, highlighting that literary works written in the Turkish language in Iranian Azerbaijan go through a strict censorship process. In an interview with Voice of America, the poet from Tabriz discusses her literary work, including her book Dumanlı Məktublar, which she published in the south, as well as the difficulties faced by those who publish Turkish-language books in Iranian Azerbaijan.
"Duman has two personalities. Sometimes he is an ordinary person, a bearer of patience, with whom I have shared my feelings and emotions. In many parts, I used romantic expressions."
"In one part, I depicted Duman as a savior," the author says, explaining that the letters in her book address various social issues such as unemployment, illness, and child brides.
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| Dumanlı Məktublar (Foggy Letters) by Leili Khodaei |
Dumanlı Məktublar was published by Ark Publishing in Tabriz.
Leili Khodaei, having spent her childhood in the Farsi-speaking regions of Iran, says that she knows Farsi better than Turkish, but in moments of solitude, her inner voice is in her native language, and she expresses herself better in Turkish.
Speaking about the difficulties of publishing literary works in Turkish in South Azerbaijan and Iran in general, Khodaei emphasizes that these challenges are present throughout the entire process, from obtaining permission for publication to the auditing and release of the book.
"I think books written in Farsi sell better because novels or poetry books in this language are supported by publishers, introduced in newspapers, and evaluated. Since the official language is Farsi, these books sell more," says the Tabriz-born writer, expressing that the entire environment in Iranian Azerbaijan is more favorable to those writing in Farsi.
Referring to her own experiences, the poet notes, "In Iranian Azerbaijan, it is very difficult to publish books in Turkish. It’s hard to get publication permission, and which Turkish magazine will publish reviews about a book to introduce it? Because of this, books in Turkish sell less and are not supported."
She also highlights that books undergo a rigorous censorship process:
"In one of the letters, I used the word 'Araz,' and they removed the entire letter. They also deleted the section where the word 'Savalan' was used. They are very sensitive to certain words, and if they find one of those words on a page, they will remove the entire page."
Leili Khodaei, along with several other Iranian poets, recently had some of her poems in Farsi translated into Czech and published in a poetry collection by the Czech PEN Center. The poet from Tabriz recently participated in a presentation of this book held in the Czech Republic.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Leyli Xudayi: İç səsim ana dilimdədir