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virus: Street Slang Proves Big Hit with Book Lovers
« on: 2004-05-05 11:29:23 » |
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Street Slang Proves Big Hit with Book Lovers
May 5, 9:13 am ET=20
By Christian Oliver=20
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Persian is famed as the melodic, courtly language of =
medieval poets such as Omar Khayyam and Hafez, but it is a dictionary of =
vulgar street slang that is taking Iranian literary circles by storm. At =
Tehran's annual book fair, the woman running the stall of the =
dictionary's publisher Nashr-e Markaz had to explain to a disappointed =
stream of book buyers that the sixth edition had already sold out.
Much of the slang is the vernacular of "Javads," a wayward breed of =
young men who drive around Tehran, trying to lure girls into their cars.
Unsurprisingly, many of their racy, often chauvinistic expressions =
derive from their beloved automobiles.
A "zero kilometer," a reference to a car with no mileage on the clock, =
is a virgin. "Been in an accident" refers to a girl who has become =
pregnant.
Girls' backsides, a favorite talking point of hot-blooded Javads, are =
"hubcaps."
The most popular stall at the fair which opened Monday was one =
specializing in books on the giddy social life of the Pahlavis, the =
royal family deposed in the 1979 Islamic revolution.=20
"Iran's bestsellers at the moment are all contemporary history," said =
Ahmad Pirani, who contributed to a book on the private life of the last =
Shah. His colleague Paris reckoned he knew why: "People want to read =
about this part of history to know who they are."
A white-turbaned mullah leafed through "Wives of the Shah."
In a country with few entertainments, Tehran's 11-day book fair is =
viewed as a fun day out. Fast-food and ice-cream vendors do a brisk =
trade.
Outside the exhibition rooms, couples exchanged tentative, illicit =
caresses on the lawns as schoolgirls perched on a wall reading Tintin =
comics. Publishing thresholds have relaxed a touch since liberal =
President Mohammad Khatami came to power in 1997 but his attempts to =
push through sweeping social reforms have been thwarted by conservative =
supervisory bodies.
Iran zealously censors any works criticizing the Islamic system. It =
banned "The Stoning of Soraya M," Freidoune Sahebjam's tale of violent, =
arbitrary justice in rural Iran.
British novelist Salman Rushdie, sentenced to death by an Iranian fatwa =
in 1989, is still taboo. An American book on male psychology called "All =
Men Are Jerks Until Proven Otherwise" has also fallen foul of the =
censors lately.
Religious and scientific texts dominated the fair's book stacks but =
young people also snapped up horror novels, U. S. rock lyrics and =
biographies of England footballer David Beckham.
Islamic publishing houses were also selling new technology: swarms of =
women in the all-enveloping chador gathered round CD-ROM virtual tours =
of holy shrines.
"I have come here almost every year," said black-bearded law student =
Hamid Soleimani, 25. He had bought some books on the early martyrs of =
Shi'ite Islam.
Elsewhere, a young woman in a green silk headscarf thumbed through a =
Persian translation of "The Fox," D. H. Lawrence's tale of simmering =
erotic tensions. Other stands were decked with works by American Jewish =
actor and director Woody Allen.
Adel, a silver-haired religious bookseller from Tehran's sprawling =
bazaar, said he was complementing his Korans with the adventures of =
boy-wizard Harry Potter. "These J. K. Rowling books are selling pretty =
well," he said.=20
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