Resistance Literature, Translation and the Discourse of Committed Literature

Abstract

Resistance Literature in Iran is often associated with the literature of war and especially the literature of Sacred Defense. However, the term “resistance” can also refer to other forms of resistance, including resistance to the cultural domination of the West, the various forms of authoritarian regimes, totalitarian regimes, and imperialist powers, as well as resistance to any form of racial, class, and gender discrimination. In all these cases, the underlying premise is that literature has a duty, an obligation, and a mission. Using a historical approach, this article attempts to show that what is now called Resistance Literature has its roots in a translated and imported discourse called the discourse of committed literature, which derives some of its premises from the socialist realism supported and propagated by the Tudeh Party, and then from the concept of engaged literature as defined by the existentialists. In other words, by examining the historical documents and contexts and relying on the role of translators, this article explores the historical roots of committed literature in Iran, which can be considered the source of Resistance Literature.