“To see a World in a Grain of Sand / And Heaven in a Wild Flower,” says William Blake in his profound view of the universe; however, this nuance pertains to good scholarship and macro engagements that demand it. In this brilliant work by Seyed-Gohrab we can see that indeed he has pinpointed “a World in a Grain of Sand” in his multilayered study of poetry and poetics in the Iran-Iraq War and build up to its importance in Iran—and by extension the Iranian psyche before, during, and after this imposed and horrific war. The Iran-Iraq war highlights a gray area in cognizance of Iranian people, whereby history and historicity as they pertain to Sufism, love, and sacrifice—emboldened further by religion—prompted unity, a common understanding, a oneness (far more than a mere unity even) that behooved same-mindedness. The topic of this book is anything but easy to approach as it...
