The Last Kiss : a bilingual poetry collection by a Norwegian-Iranian poet on exile, repression, and the search for freedom in Iran

Omtale

En tospråklig diktsamling fra Iran om eksil, undertrykkelse og motstand. Forfatteren er en iransk-norsk poet bosatt i Lillehammer og fribyforfatter i Norge. The Last Kiss is a bilingual collection of poetry in Persian and English by Iranian poet Mehdi Mousavi. Translated by Fatemeh Ekhtesari and edited by Dr Samuel Tongue, the collection brings together voices shaped by repression, exile, and resistance. Rooted in lived experience, the poems reflect everyday life under political constraint — where fear, censorship, and control shape even the most personal moments. At the same time, they speak to the persistence of hope, identity, and the human desire for freedom. Mousavi, a leading figure in contemporary Iranian poetry and the originator of the postmodern ghazal, has been imprisoned and forced into exile for his writing. Now living in Lillehammer as a City of Refuge writer, his work offers a rare and intimate insight into these realities, creating a bridge between Iranian experience and an international readership.