9.3 Newsmakers: Reza Baraheni

Autumn 2001 (9.3)
Page 10

Newsmakers
Reza Baraheni
Writer Reza Baraheni (1935- ), an Azerbaijani from Iran, has been elected president of PEN Canada, an organization that represents more than 700 poets, essayists, novelists, journalists and other writers. PEN Canada is part of International PEN, a worldwide association of writers founded in England in 1921.

Born in Tabriz, Iran, Baraheni has made his home in Canada for the past four years and is currently a Visiting Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto. He is an accomplished poet and novelist and has written more than 50 books. His work covers areas such as poetry, fiction, literary theory and criticism as well as socio-cultural issues. In 1977, Harper's Magazine called him "Iran's finest living poet."

Much of Baraheni's own poetry and fiction deals with the life experiences and living conditions of the Azerbaijani minority living in Iran (an estimated 25-30 million people). For more than four decades, Baraheni has defended the rights of self-determination and freedom of expression for Iran's various nationalities. He was imprisoned several times for these beliefs. Contact: PEN Canada, 24 Ryerson Avenue, Suite 214, Toronto, Ontario M5T 2P3 Canada. Tel: (416) 703-8448; Fax: (416) 703-3870; pen@pencanada.ca; www.pencanada.ca.

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From Azerbaijan International (9.3) Autumn 2001.
© Azerbaijan International 2001. All rights reserved.