Fatemeh Shams Esmaeili, MA (Muslim Cultures)
Born
in Khorasan, Iran in 1983, Shams' (MA in Muslim Culture' 08) destiny
was to be more than ordinary. From a very early age, she turned to
poetry as a refuge. By 14, she was writing poetry around her thoughts
and ideas and on social issues. In 2000, she had won the silver medal in
the national literature Olympiad and by 2005, had an
undergraduate degree in sociology from Tehran University and an advanced
diploma in Persian Literature.
At ISMC, Fatemeh Shams Esmaeili’s “world got much bigger, her vision much wider and her life much richer than before.”
Born
in Khorasan, Iran in 1983, Shams’ (MA in Muslim Culture ’08) destiny
was to be more than ordinary. From a very early age, she turned to
poetry as a refuge. By 14, she was writing poetry around her thoughts
and ideas on social issues. In 2000, she had won the silver medal in the
national Literature Olympiad and by 2005, had an undergraduate degree
in sociology from Tehran University and an advanced diploma in Persian
literature.
This melding of disciplines led her to apply to ISMC
where she was awarded a scholarship. “This proved to be the gateway to a
new life and lots of opportunities,” says Shams. ISMC’s distinctive way
of understanding Muslim cultures in all of their geographical,
linguistic and cultural diversity was attractive. Instead of a
monolithic Muslim civilization, ISMC offers an insight into Muslim
civilisations across time and continents. It was this multiplicity, this
pluralistic approach to Muslim studies, and the lack of prejudice and
dogma, which Shams found interesting and inspiring.
It encouraged her to go even further. Today she is a doctoral
candidate in Persian literature at Wadham College, University of Oxford
and teaches Persian language and classical and modern literary texts at
the University of Oxford’s Oriental Institute.
“ISMC gave me the
opportunity to live differently and see the world differently,” says
Shams. It gave her access to the best literature and contemporary
scholars from around the world that greatly influenced her. “It has been
the main platform for me as a scholar and writer to continue both my
education and literary career with freedom.”
With her strong leaning towards literature, Shams has worked
as an online journalist, translator, blogger and poet. Shams won the
prize for the best young Iranian poet by Jaleh Esfahani Foundation,
based in London, in December 2012. Her first collection of poems, ‘88’
was released in June 2013. The poems are cathartic for Shams and reflect
the human condition in societies around the world today.
Bit by bit now; in my breast, your memory dies from me
The heart’s not infinite, and sometimes sorrow seizes me
You’re a fistful of dirt, wounded, a winter, a distant land,
How much I miss that fistful you’ll never understand!
From ‘A poem for Iran’, by Fatemeh Shams Esmaeili, translated into English by Dick Davis.
While living in UK, poetry has served as a pivotal for her
to reach out to a larger audience. Through her poetry, Shams shares her
feelings, her words acting as a powerful tool for her to connect with
her people and homeland.
