PEN event holds up a mirror to Iran, the U.S.

The stories at this weekend’s “Strange Times Live” book reading provide a rare glimpse of present-day Iran. But the story behind the event, based on the book “Strange Times, My Dear: The PEN Anthology of Contemporary Iranian Literature,” is intriguing on its own.

The 50-plus pieces of fiction, nonfiction and poetry in “Strange Times, My Dear” were all penned by writers from Iran, who, along with authors in Cuba and Sudan, were potentially barred from being published in the United States until last December. That’s because the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control restricted the publication of literature from countries under U.S. sanctions unless a permit was obtained.

Doing so without a government-granted permit ran the risk of a $1-million fine and 10-year jail term. (Now, those penalties apply only to authors from countries under U.S. trade embargoes who are also government representatives.)

Amid a lawsuit filed by the Assn. of American Publishers, Assn. of American University Presses, PEN American Center and Arcade Publishing, the government eased its restrictions, clearing the way for “Strange Times, My Dear” to be published earlier this year. And that has led to Saturday night’s event, presented by the literature advocacy group PEN USA in conjunction with the Levantine Cultural Center in Culver City and local poet-translator Sholeh Wolpe.

In addition to featuring readings from the book, it will include a performance by L.A.-based Farsi jazz vocalist Ziba Shirazi and Middle Eastern cuisine. Iranian comedian and actor Maz Jobrani will be the host.

“A lot of people fled Iran for freedom of speech, and here we are in America suffering what we left there for,” Jobrani said. “Being a comedian and knowing that it’s important to be able to say what we want to say, and also having come from Iran, where there’s censorship, it kind of made me think: If that’s happening here in the U.S., it’s something we need to bring to people’s attention.”

“For PEN, this [event] is part of our main mission of freedom of speech and freedom to write,” said Adam Somers, executive director of the L.A.-based PEN USA. “It’s part of our mission to nurture the literary community, in this case the Iranian community, as well.”

Southern California is home to the largest Iranian population outside Iran. It’s been estimated that 600,000 to 800,000 Iranians live here.

Majid Naficy, Abbas Saffari and Wolpe are among them. Naficy fled Iran in 1983 after government officials executed his first wife and brother; he now lives in L.A. Saffari left amid the shah’s overthrow in 1979; he is now in Long Beach. Wolpe moved away as a teen, spending time in the Caribbean and Europe before landing in Newport Beach. All three are poets who will read from their work at “Strange Times Live.”

The majority of writings in the anthology that inspired the live event are translated and from writers who remain in Iran. “Strange Times’ ” publisher Dick Seaver and editors Nahid Mozaffari and Ahmad Karimi Hakkak are among those who, in those writers’ absence, will read selections from their writings.

Penned in the last five years by men and women who, collectively, span three generations, the pieces offer Americans a bird’s-eye view of a complex culture that’s largely off-limits to the Western world. Reflecting a multiplicity of cultures, languages, ethnicities, religions and worldviews, the writings touch on themes of power and corruption, alienation and exile, feminism and marriage, among other topics.

“The news media has an impression that Iran is sort of this Third World country controlled by mullahs entirely and that most Iranians are anti-American and fundamentalist in their religious orientation, and that actually isn’t true,” said Jordan Elgrably, co-founder of the Levantine Cultural Center, which is hosting the event.

Changing those perceptions is one of the goals of “Strange Times Live.” Though Elgrably expects many in the audience will be members of the expatriate Iranian community, he anticipates drawing a more diverse crowd of individuals interested in freedom of speech issues, contemporary literature and Iranian culture.

“We don’t just create arts programs. It’s very important for us to create opportunities for public dialogue and for private friendships to develop,” said Elgrably, whose 2,000-member cultural center is only half Middle Eastern. “It’s as much about the conversation that ensues from an arts program as it is about the arts program itself.”

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‘Strange Times Live’

Where: Levantine Cultural Center, 5920 Blackwelder St., Culver City

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Cost: Free

Info: (310) 862-1555, (310) 559-5544 or www.penusa.org. RSVP recommended.