Mina Fardeen / Another Birth

All my existence is a dark verse
Which repeating you in itself will take you
To the dawn of eternal blossoming and growth.*

*First lines of “Another Birth” by Forough Farrokhzad (as translated from Persian to English by Hasan Javadi and Susan Sallée). Forough was evolutionary artist, poet, and activist in mid-20th century Iran.

In this print, I paired the precise, straight lines of the window frame with the fluid, curvilinear strokes of the handwritten calligraphy. Using letterpress, I had the opportunity to determine the literal
depressions of all the shapes and lines on the page. It seemed appropriate, then, to make the impression ofthe poem deeper than the window frame to echo the strong human and intimate nature of this project.

The rich amethyst blue of the text invokes the peace, profundity, and subtle-but-undeniable spark of Forough’s words. It is, in fact, color-matched with the ink I use in my go-to pen, enhancing the
handwritten, authentic feel of the poem’s verses. The ballet-pink window frame holds the calligraphy in the center of the page, in acknowledgment of both the beauty and limitations of femininity. The gentle pink frame also pays homage to Forough’s perspective of poetry as a “window” that opens automatically to “freely unburden” [her] heart”.**

My process behind this final print led to a multidimensional exploration of letterpress printing, Forough Farrokzhad’s artistry, and my creative self-expression. Through the course of this project, my skepticism of poetic melancholy dissipated into an appreciation for confident and honest spaces. This print represents that evolution in my perception and my attempt to encapsulate life in art’s dynamic nature.

**from an interview with the critic, Sirius Tahbaz, and the Novelist-Playwright, Gholam-Hossein Sa’edi in Spring, 1964