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Dr Saeed Talajooy

As a UCL Mellon Fellow, Saeed’s research concentrated on the intergeneric translation of western literary and dramatic works in post-revolutionary Iran: translations of plays into puppet operettas and minimalist performances, novels into stage plays and poems into mimes.
Saeed was born and educated in Iran and taught at arriving in the UK in 2003 to do his PhD at the University of Leeds.

Degrees

  • 2008: PhD in English Literature (Comparative Study of Drama), Workshop Theatre, University of Leeds.

Thesis: Mythologizing the Transition: A Comparative Study of Bahram Beyzaee and Wole Soyinka.

  • 1998: MA in English Literature, University of Tehran.

Thesis: Tragedy, Ibsen, O'Neill: A Study in Influence

  • 1995: BA in English Language and Literature, University of Tehran.

Publications

  • 2010: Bahram Beyzaee: The Contour in Time (Under revision for Iranian Studies)
  • Intellectuals as Sacrificial Heroes: A Comparative Study of Bahram Beyzaee and Wole Soyinka (Submitted for publication in Comparative Literature Studies)
  • 'Indigenous Performing Traditions in Post-Revolutionary Iranian Theatre' in Thirty Years of On: The Social and Cultural Impacts of Iranian Revolution (Conference Paper, SOAS, University of London) (Submitted to be published by I.B. Tauris is a book compiled by Annabelle Srebreney.)
  • 'The Impact of the Russian Contact on Iranian Theatre: The Case of Nushin' in Empires and Revolution: Iranian-Russian Encounters Since 1800 (Conference Paper, SOAS, University of London) (Under revision to be published by I.B. Tauris in a book compiled by Stephenie Cornin.)
  • 'Modern Historiography and Iranian Theatre: The Case of Bahram Beyzaee' in Historiography & Iran in Comparative Perspective, University of Saint Andrews (Conference Paper, University of St Andrews) (Under revision to be published by I.B. Tauris in a book compiled by Ali Ansari.)
  • Persian. Shahkarhai-e Namayesh Moaser (Masterpieces of Contemporary Drama). The authors include: Ama Ata Aidoo, Amiri Baraka, Caryle Churchill, David Edgar, Femi Osofisan, Harold Pinter, Sam Shepard, Wole Soyinka, and Tom Stoppard. The series, published by Nila Publications (Tehran), will start to appear during summer and autumn 2009, and each book will contain a translation of a major play by a leading playwright, together with a critical commentary. First to appear wil be Soyinka's The Strong Breed, to be followed by hisDeath and the King's Horseman.
  • English. Masterpieces of Iranian Theatre.
  • ‘Heidegger: Interpretation as Philosophy of Being’ in The Research Journal of the Faculty of Foreign Languages. Tehran: University of Tehran. Autumn 2001, 9: 40-53.
  • 'Metamorphosis : The Insect Will Become a Butterfly’ (A Study of Kafaka’s text and the play written and directed by Kooshk Jalali) in Namayesh. February 2000.
  • ‘Pablo Neruda: The Poet of Open Horizons’ (A study of Neruda's life and poetry and a review of the play directed by Koosk Jalali) in Namayesh. February 2000.
  • ‘Golden-Toothed As a Musical World of Pastiche’ (A review of a play, Dandoon Tala [Golden-Toothed] by Davood Mir Bagheri) in Soroosh. October 1999.
  • ‘Richard the Third’ (A review of the text and the performance) in Soroosh. June 1999.
  • ‘The Clan of Blood: A Postmodern Adaptation of King Lear’ (A review of a play written and directed by Atila Pessiani) in Soroosh. June 1999.
  • ‘An Introduction to Modern and Post Modern Literary Criticism’( 12 articles) in Javan. Spring 1999.
  • ‘Blood Wedding: The Disparity between the Text and the Performance’ in Soroosh. April 1999.
  • ‘The Hairy Ape: Struggle between the Individual and Society’ (A study of the text and the performance) in Namayesh. December 1998.
  • ‘John Gabriel Borkman: Dreams Deferred’ (A review of the text and the performance) in Soroosh. December 1998.
  • 'Rostam and Sohrab: the Struggle of Generations’ (A review of a play by Pari Saberi) in Soroosh. October 1998.
  • Mashin-e Zaman (a Persian translation of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine). Tehran: Borhan. February 1997.
  • articles for the 7th International Festival of Puppet Theater published in Namayesh Bulletins. September 1998.