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Magical Realism in Moniru Ravanipur's Ahl‐e gharq
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 January 2022
Extract
Moniru Ravanipur began her literary career in 1989 with the publication of her first collection of short stories, Kanīzū. The same year she published her first novel, Ahl-e gharq. Since then she has completed two other novels, Del-e fūlād and Kowlī kenār-e ātesh, another collection of short stories, Sang-e shaytdn, occasional stories for children, and a compilation of southern Iranian legends and beliefs, Afsānehā va bāvarhā-ye jonūb. Her fictional works are almost all set in the Persian Gulf region and center around local myths and legends. The language of Ravanipur's literary production also bears the distinct mark of her regional dialect, which as a native of the village of Jofreh (also the setting of her first novel) she maintained after moving to Shiraz, where she eventually received a degree in psychology from Shiraz University.
For Ravanipur, writing is inextricably linked with her littoral linguistic and cultural heritage.
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References
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