... translations done by Kamran Talattof (Near Eastern Studies, University of Arizona). Talattof suggests that her background as an erotic dancer and her scandalous roles in lower grade movies have prevented her from being acknowledged or credited as a legitimate poetess. (Talattof 14) Pressing beyond the defaming connotations of a "showgirl," he states in his unpublished article Thirsty, She Aged: The Poetry, Acting, and Dancing of Shahrzad, that, "All of her arts, however, should be treated as interrelated because focusing on any single one of her arts is highly ideological and is to dismiss her as irrelevant." (Talattof 2) The role of poetry as an expressive agent seems to be the primary intent of Shahrzad's writing-a voice coming from the darkness, blackened by her childhood, her tarnished reputation as an erotic performer, and by her life's experiences. In her poetry, she unveils her emotional and psychological struggles, and searches for both ...

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