Leili Khodaei: My inner voice is in my mother tongue

Southern Azerbaijani poet talks about the book “Letters”

“They removed the sections from my book where I used the words Araz and Savalan,” says southern Azerbaijani poet and writer Leili Khodaei, highlighting the heavy censorship faced by Turkish-language literary works in Iranian Azerbaijan. In an interview with Voice of America, the poet from Tabriz spoke about her literary work, including the book "Letters" she published in the south in past years, and the difficulties faced by those who publish Turkish books in Iranian Azerbaijan.

Leili Khodaei says that "Letters" is made up of poems and prose-poems written as letters addressed to a character named Duman:

“Duman has two personalities. Sometimes he is just a normal person, a pillar of patience. I confided in him and wrote to him about my feelings. In many parts, I used romantic language.”

“In another part, I described Duman as a savior,” says the author, adding that the letters also touch on social issues like unemployment, illness, and child brides.

"Letters" was published by Ark Publishing in Tabriz.

Leili Khodaei explains that because she spent her childhood in Persian-speaking regions of Iran, she knows Persian better than Turkish. However, she says that in solitude, the voice inside her speaks in her mother tongue, and she can express herself better in Turkish.

Speaking about the difficulties of publishing Turkish literary works in Southern Azerbaijan and Iran in general, Khudayi stresses that these challenges exist in every step of the process—from getting printing permission to publication and beyond.

“I think books written in Persian sell better, because Persian novels or poetry books are supported by publishers, promoted in newspapers, and appreciated. Since Persian is the official language, they sell more,” says the Tabriz-based writer, adding that everything in Iranian Azerbaijan favors Persian-language writers.

Referring to her own experience, the poet says: “Publishing Turkish books in Iranian Azerbaijan is very difficult. Getting permission to print is hard. And what Turkish magazine is there to publish a review of your book and help promote it? That’s why Turkish books sell less and get no support.”

She also highlights the strict censorship process:

“In one of the letters, I used the word Araz. They removed the entire letter. They also deleted the part that had the word Savalan. They’re very sensitive about certain words—if they see that word on a page, they cut the whole page.”

Leili Khodaei and several other Iranian poets recently had their Persian poems translated into Czech and published in a poetry collection by the Czech PEN Club. The Tabriz-based poet also attended the launch event for the book in the Czech Republic.