🔸Ban on holding a memorial ceremony for the 100th anniversary of Ahmad Shamlou’s birth

According to reports, a ceremony that was scheduled to be held on Thursday, 8 Mordad, simultaneously with the 100th anniversary of Ahmad Shamlou’s birth, and with the aim of unveiling a collection that includes works not yet published of this well-known Iranian poet, was canceled by order of security officials of the Islamic Republic.

The ceremony was to be held at Cheshmeh Bookstore (Alborz) in Karaj.

So far, no explanation has been provided regarding the reason for the cancellation.

Cheshmeh Publishing has recently, and on the occasion of the passing of a century since Shamlou’s birth, published the 17-volume collection “Faryad-haye Aasi Azarkhesh” under the supervision of the poet’s wife, Aida Sarkisian, and with the cooperation of Farid Darvashi and Solmaz Sepahri-Azad. This collection includes some unpublished works by Ahmad Shamlou and, for the most part, his dispersed works in newspapers and magazines from long ago.

Meanwhile, some reports indicate that two other cafés in Tehran have also been sealed: ‘Emarat Mansha’ in Noufel Loshato, and ‘Kama’ at the intersection of Sohravardi and Abbas-Abad.

In the past months and weeks, a number of Tehran cafés—which are among the few recreational facilities for gathering citizens and young people—have often been closed down on the pretext of “not observing Islamic decorum.”