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Cultural activists from Azerbaijan, Amin Jodat and Milad Balesini, shared their experiences in Iran with Voice of America, discussing the obstacles and difficulties that authors and publishers face.
“The Turkish-language books published in Iranian Azerbaijan are generally variations of books published in the Republic of Azerbaijan, transcribed into the Arabic script. Some works are adapted from Turkish Turkish into Azerbaijani Turkish. However, 90% of the translated books consist of poetry and literary prose,” said Amin Jodat.
Jodat, who works in book publishing, mentioned that there has been development in the Turkish-language book industry in recent years in Iranian Azerbaijan, noting that the number of readers for Turkish-language works has also increased.
"Publishers and writers in Iran, Turkey, the Republic of Azerbaijan, and worldwide have become acquainted with contemporary literature, which has led to an evolution in both the form and content of our poetry and prose."
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| Amin Jodat |
Jodat also emphasized that the opening of borders and the internet in recent years has allowed publishers in Iranian Azerbaijan to take advantage of resources from Turkey and Azerbaijan, and publish works originally printed in these countries in Arabic script.
"In recent times, specialized publishers focused on children's literature have been established, and they publish Turkish-language books specifically for children."
When examining the works published in Iranian Azerbaijan, Jodat pointed out several titles, including Eyvaz Tahan's Poetry is the House of Existence, Himmat Şahbazinin's A Critique of Contemporary Azerbaijani Poetry Written in Persian, Mohammad Rahmanifarin's Together with Shahrayar – From Alienation to Belonging, and Nasir Manzuri's 10-volume series of books on conceptual linguistics, which he argued have played significant roles in the development of literature in the south.
In the field of poetry, books like Ismail Ülkər’s Step Forward, Mohammadreza Levayinin's poetry collections, Vali Gözətən's Yes, Saleh Atayinin's Perhaps I Couldn’t Say More, Nadir Āzheri's This is Me, the Greatest of the Ugly, and Nigar Khiyavi's Fifty Fingers in My Hand, along with poetry anthologies published by young poets in the 1990s, have all contributed to the development of literature in the south, according to cultural activists.
Milad Balesini shared his experiences working in Turkish-language magazines in Iran, particularly during his time as the editor-in-chief of the student magazine Elin during his university years.
"Since the 1970s, a group of elites has emerged, trying to separate Turkishness from leftism or distancing it from leftist influences through Turkish-language magazines. Today, the standard of Turkish that we refer to has been cultivated in those magazines during those years," Balesini explained.
Balesini stated that compared to the past, magazines in Iran and the broader Middle East have weakened both in content and form.
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| Milad Balesini |
He noted that censorship and monitoring apply differently to Persian and Turkish-language magazines in Iran.
"In Persian magazines, censorship and monitoring apply only to content. But for Turkish-Persian magazines, not only is there censorship and monitoring of content, but also control over the language. The aim of the censors is for the language we write to resemble the spoken language. As a result, we end up with a language that is far from literary Turkish and closer to colloquial, street, or market speech. This language lacks any intellectual depth because it is primarily concerned with daily matters," Balesini explained.
He further pointed out that in Iran, censors have established a “made-up orthography” for Turkish written in the Arabic script, which deviates from the standardized rules set in a 2001 seminar led by Dr. Javad Heyat. The censors oppose the use of this orthography.
Amin Jodat also elaborated on the challenges of publishing Turkish-language books in Iranian Azerbaijan, noting economic difficulties, censorship barriers, and the complexity of the publishing process, as well as issues related to the distribution and access to published books by readers.
“The Turkish-language publishing market is largely controlled by a few book dealers. All of these factors have contributed to a tense situation for Turkish book publishing in the south," Jodat added.
Jodat mentioned that censorship has always been present in Iran and will likely continue in the future. "In democratic countries, authors and publishers never face obstacles like censorship or licensing. But here, censorship is one of the major problems that drain our energy and increase our stress."
He also pointed out that individuals who have no knowledge of the Turkish language and history are in charge of overseeing Turkish orthography and other related matters. According to Jodat, a book titled The Unified Writing of Words has recently been published, dictating the orthography rules that the authorities prefer.
Milad Balesini discussed how topics related to language identity and national issues are seen as red lines by the authorities, and discussing such topics can lead to the closure of magazines. "The magazine Shams-i Nigar, for example, was shut down for publishing memories of Ahmed Baraderan, a representative of the Azerbaijan National Assembly during the nationalist government period in Salmas," Balesini said.
He noted that student magazines face even more pressure. "For the smallest issues, university officials close down magazines and punish the students working in them. For instance, our magazine Elin was shut down for repeatedly addressing national issues, and since I was the editor-in-chief, I was deprived of the opportunity to study for a while. Any mention of national statehood in magazines irritates the censors."