Parwana Fayyaz is a scholar and teacher of Persian literature at the University of Cambridge. She is also a poet and translator working with multiple languages. Her poetry collection, Forty Names (Carcanet Press, 2021), was a New Statesman book of the year and a White Review book of the year. Her translations promote the writings and culture of Afghan people around the world. Parwana is a translator and editor of My Dear Kabul (Coronet, 2024).
Parwana Fayyaz
Original Series
My dear father
Marie writes a difficult letter to her father from Germany about her new life and new habits, including the way she wears her hair now.
17th September 2024
Original Series
Someone else’s place
Batool's diary entry from Oxfordshire in 2024 details her visit to a church after she has received some terrible news about her young cousin.
16th September 2024
Original Series
A new arrival
Zainab, writing in 2024 from British Columbia, meets Ismail, who is the spitting image of her deceased cousin.
15th September 2024
Original Series
A place for today
Fakhta's diary entry from Nairobi, Kenya, where she has newly arrived in 2024 with her husband.
13th September 2024
Original Series
A false return
A diary entry by Fakhta about leaving her village in Daikundi in Central Afghanistan in secret with her parents in 2021, heading to Kabul.
12th September 2024
Parwana Fayyaz
Parwana Fayyaz is a scholar and teacher of Persian literature at the University of Cambridge.