“It was indeed a spirited and moving event”, noted one of the poets after the uplifting hour-long poetry reading to “Honor the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom Uprising in Iran — its Past and its Future.” An audience of 30+ was captivated and applauded loudly as each poet delivered their artistic pieces with visceral intensity, compassionate humor, and in your face aesthetics.
A reminder of the lives in the balance among Iran’s political prisoners was two posters on stage: 1) 2023 Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi whom Iran’s regime has vilified, brutalized and repeatedly imprisoned; and 2) activist Kurdish women Pakhshan Azizi and Verisheh Moradi, currently sentenced to death.
The unique and timely night of poetry began by the MC reiterating the themes of this gathering: Honor the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom Uprising in Iran — its past and its future; Free Iran’s political prisoners/stop executions; End U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and Lift U.S. sanctions. He then read a solidarity message composed and sent specially to the event by the world renowned author and playwright Ariel Dorfman (“Death and the Maiden”). View his message on this IEC video:
Ariel Dorfman also sent to the program a link to a video of one of his poems, read by acclaimed British playwright Harold Pinter, which played on a giant screen (view it here).
MC Larry Felson framed the overview for this poetry night with these opening remarks taken from the IEC flyer for the event:
Four years since the fierce Woman, Life, Freedom uprising touched off by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini in police custody, Iranian society is racked by expansive and intensive war and destruction, mass imprisonment and daily executions. All this is up against the backdrop of the relentless U.S.-backed Israeli Nazi genocide in Gaza. We hold this poetry reading to honor the fighters and dreamers for a better world—in unity with all the masses of people in Iran and worldwide to burn the cage and free the bird for our collective future.
The six poets who read, and the short, sharp solidarity statement by Revolution Books Berkeley, expressed the broad political and cultural perspectives and forces that form the “internationalism from below” basis of the IEC. The poets (in alphabetical order) were:
Mahnaz Badihian: an award-winning poet, painter, and translator whose work reflects ideas of immigrants and exiles, women’s struggles, poverty, and the fight for justice and love. Her two poetry collections are The Raven of Isfahan and Ask the Wind.
She read part of her poem in Farsi and then fully in English titled “You are shot there but I died here” capturing the anguish of Iran’s diaspora as they got news of the regime’s massacre of protesters in the early 2026 uprising.
Rafael Jesús González: Berkeley’s first Poet Laureate, 2017-2022, and is Professor Emeritus of Literature and Creative Writing at Oakland’s Laney College where he founded the Dept. of Mexican & Latin-American Studies. Among his books of poetry is La musa lunática/The Lunatic Muse.
He read his poem in Spanish, “El Cabello de la Mujer — a Jina Mahsa Amini” and then in English “The Hair of Women — for Jina Mahsa Amini”. This poem was posted in Farsi in 2023 at cpimlm.org, the website of the Communist Party of Iran, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist.
Karen Melander-Magoon: ordained minister, poet, social justice activist, and professional singer and composer, and co-editor of the Revolutionary Poets Brigade anthologies.
She read three poems, including “Killed in Custody” for Mahsa Amini, as well as beautifully sang “When Will the People Learn?”.
Kim Shuck: a Cherokee Nation poet, author, and artisan. An enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, she was the 7th poet laureate of San Francisco.
She read one of the many poems she wrote at the time of the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising.
Raymond Nat Turner: “The Town Crier,” is Artistic Director of the Jazz Poetry Ensemble UpSurge!NYC; former Co-Chair of the New York Chapter of the National Writers Union; and Poet-in-Residence at Black Agenda Report.
He gave a lively performance of two poems from 2022: 1) Hair in the Game dedicated to and inspired by decades of struggle of Iran’s revolutionaries; and 2) Pentagon Pimpin against U.S. war and fascism.
Lorene Zarou-Zouzounis: born in Ramallah, Palestine, is a writer and visual artist. She is a peace, justice, human rights and anti-war activist since the early 1990’s.
She read “Iron”, in honor of women political prisoners in Iran and Woman, Life, Freedom, and “Picking a Palestinian Red Poppy and Painting it is a Crime”, reflecting on Palestinian prisoners.
We will post video of some of the readings at www.freeiranspoliitcalprisonersnow.org soon. In the meantime, watch a clip of Raymond Nat Turner’s dynamic performance and read the lyrics.
Heartfelt statements were sent by exiled Iranian activist Mansoureh Behkish and author Nasser Mohajer (“Voices of a Massacre: Untold Stories of Life and Death in Iran, 1988”), which are posted on our Global Movement page.
The IEC sends special thanks to The Starry Plough for hosting this poetry reading, as well as all who attended, donated and otherwise participated. We thank David Rosenberg who interviewed IEC reps and aired a short clip on the news hour on KPFA about the poetry reading. On a side bar we share a key statement read by Revolution Books Berkeley which raised sights at the event. An excerpt of a letter from Iran’s political prisoners to the signers of The Guardian Open Letter (August 20, 2026) was also read:
As you rightly wrote, we are trapped between the two blades of a pair of scissors. On one side stands an apparatus that sends us, for the crime of protesting, writing, or even contacting the media, to cells where death is ever-present; and on the other are the bombs and sanctions that come crashing down upon ordinary people. We feel this reality in our flesh and bones every day….And now, with the escalation of the war, the pressure had mounted even further. Executions have accelerated, psychological torture has intensified, and justice seekers—mothers, fathers, spouses, and those whose only demand is justice for their loved ones— are being increasingly hemmed in….Under these circumstances, your support is vital to us.
But we need broader support: …We need a form of solidarity that carries our voices beyond these walls and raises the cost of repression for any power that instrumentalizes human life…. True solidarity means that we neither surrender to one blade of the scissors nor ignore the other. We are still here. We are still breathing. We still stand by the promise we made to one another: we will not surrender. And your voice, if it continues and spreads, can become part of a rope that pulls us out of this darkness.
--With respect and in the hope of broader solidarity, A Group of Political Prisoners and Justice Seekers in Iran (Full statement here)
In conclusion, the poetry reading was a blow against all those who insist that to support the Palestinian people and oppose the U.S.-Israeli genocide in Gaza, you must support the theocratic fascist Islamic Republic of Iran and ignore the resisters there, including erasing the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising. The content and spirit of this gathering concretely challenged the false binary that if you oppose the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, then you support the fascist regime in Iran (or Axis of Resistance forces) and vice versa. Solidarity to free Iran’s political prisoners was beautifully achieved by firmly standing with the Iranian (and Palestinian) people, and against reactionary regimes big or small. As such, it is all part of a broader global movement of those determined to bring forward another way that is a better future for humanity.
As part of promoting “internationalism from below” expressed by this event, we conclude with a collection (originally prepared for the pre-program period) of versions of “Bella Ciao”, which has become an international antifascist anthem and is loved by millions in Iran. Here it is sung in 1) original Italian, during the fight against fascism in WWII, 2) in Persian, 3) in English, 4) by crowds in Rome this year 5) in an English stadium, and 6) on a phone call from women in Evin Prison, with pictures of the women drawn on coffee filters, the only paper available.
“Real, emancipating revolution: Here in the U.S., in Iran, and all over the world”— Statement by Revolution Books Berkeley:
Thanks to the IEC and the Starry Plough for having this event, and for inviting Revolution Books to take part. The Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran lifted the spirits and raised the sights of people all over the world, As the Communist Party of Iran, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist said: this is “…not an 'Iranian' event! It is a cry for liberation from oppressed humanity, especially the female half of humanity….” It is especially important to hold an event like this NOW, when U.S. government has been waging an unjust, unprovoked, imperialist was against Iran—committing major war crimes against the people of Iran—crimes which are compounded by Trump’s depraved, genocidal threats against Iran, which are themselves war crimes. The war, including harsher repression by the government, has greatly intensified the oppression of the people, and even more of the political prisoners in Iran, who have stood up with courage and daring. The revolutionary communists, and Revolution Books, have stood with the people of Iran for more than four decades. We opposed the U.S.-backed Shah, and since the revolutionary uprising of the Iranian people was seized by reactionary Islamic fundamentalist forces, we have exposed the highly oppressive nature of this regime in Iran, and have supported mass resistance against it. We support the revolutionary communists in Iran who have been working consistently for the overthrow of this regime, and who have faced the most terrible torture and slaughter at the hands of the regime, again going back for more than four decades. What stands out, most of all, is the ever greater need for a real, emancipating revolution. Here in the U.S., in Iran, and all over the world. What our store brings to this is the work of Bob Avakian, which opens a new, scientific, and emancipatory pathway to make this revolution in this world, where humanity really is on the brink of the abyss. You can find some of the works of this new communism at our table, as well as some of the writings of the Communist Party of Iran, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist. I invite everyone to come talk to us and to work together with us for the emancipation of humanity.