Eszter Melitta Szabo dedicates her efforts as a Work Study Student and Research Assistant for the Women Poets Iranica project at the Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies. Currently, Eszter is a Master’s student in Near & Middle Eastern Civilisations at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Professor Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi. With extensive training in philology, she holds a BA in Indian Studies with a minor in Iranian Studies, specializing in the exploration of classical and modern languages and literature from both regions. Her academic pursuits revolve around the broader fields of 20th century women’s literature, gender studies, and anthropology, where she passionately explores their intricate intersections within the cultural tapestries of Iran and India.
“As a graduate student specializing in Iranian women’s poetry at the Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations and Research Assistant for the esteemed Women Poets Iranica project, it has been both a pleasure and a source of immense pride to collaborate with the team on this invaluable academic endeavor. Over these three semesters of being a part of the team, my involvement has afforded me the opportunity to develop essential research skills and deepen my knowledge of the extensive history of women poets writing in Persian. This has involved tasks such as compiling bibliographies, conducting research on the poets’ oeuvre, and undertaking various other projectrelated responsibilities. Not only has this experience contributed to my professional development and personal research, but it has also been equally exciting and intellectually stimulating. I would like to highlight the utmost importance of sharing this knowledge and introducing lesser-known women poets of the broader Persianate world to the public through the project’s website. This initiative will undoubtedly inspire many more students and scholars of the field to pay greater attention to the generally overlooked poetic works of women poets.”