“A sumptuous celebration of the rich and paradoxical sensory world of classical and modern Persian literature and culture, Losing Our Minds, Coming to Our Senses expands our appreciation of one of the world’s literary treasure troves.”

“Shams of Tabriz, that enigmatic master of poet Rumi, is supposed to have said of himself: ‘You will see my state if your ears turn into eyes.’ In this book, we see not only the mutuality and interdependence of the mind and the senses, not just the vocal, the visual and the tactile, or the sounds and smells of our world, but an entire universe in constant acts of making and remaking of the mental and material worlds we live in. Such a collection, rare as it may be in comprehending Persian culture and its amazingly rich literature, occupies a central niche of understanding, at once unique and essential, to all that makes and unmakes us in the diverse mental and sensuous worlds we live in.”

“This aptly-titled collected volume, Losing Our Minds, Coming to Our Senses: Sensory Readings in Persian Literature and Culture, marks a momentous and welcome shift away from the conventional socio-political and allegorical readings of Persian literature. Ranging in their focus from the Classical to modern literary and cultural production, the nine chapters, complemented with a refined introduction, chart new paths for a more nuanced appreciation of the Iranian literary and cultural traditions.”