Editor’s Note

This issue of IJPL is a special one for two reasons. One, we have within the covers of our journal some of the most diverse articles we have ever published. The authors of these articles we thank profusely for their hard work and their rigorous attention to detail and their patience. Secondly, this issue is dedicated to my good friend and perhaps one of the best friends to scholarship Patrick Alexander, the former head of publishing at Penn State University Press (Please see In Memoriam), who left us far too early this year. The articles herein have a wide thematic range and all are great platforms for later research. I want to thank the fabulous team at Penn State University Press and the interim head of PSU Press Jennifer Norton. Without the unrelenting help and support of Julie Lambert, Astrid Meyer, Leah Noel, and Shyam Ramasubramony, this issue would have been impossible. I want to specially thank Reem Rizk of the American University of Beirut whose article has helped me envision a new thematic dimension for the journal moving forward. She is a formidable and brilliant scholar and rigorous in every way: no doubt a future publisher of many seminal works. I would like to thank my good friend and esteemed scholar Homa Katouzian, my co-editor at IJPL whose breadth of knowledge is the touchstone of humility. I would like to thank Dr. Ali-Asghar Seyed-Gohrab of Utrecht University for always reminding me to be rigorous and never too confident. Having an unassuming friend like Asghar, who happens to be the most productive scholar in Iranian and Persian studies, has given me the humility I need to move forward gingerly, i.e., attention to detail. Last but not least, I want to thank my daughter Iran Ghazal Korangy: “upon birth you were my re-birth and are now the only real proof to me of the far-too-used-and-abused word love. You are a testament to the fact that one can completely forego oneself for another in this world of lies and hurt. Iran, you make me proud by your hard work and your persistence to be curious. Every time you tell me you love me that is when I look forward to another day. Love you my sun and moon!”We hope you enjoy the articles and happy reading!Alireza KorangyThis issue of the International Journal of Persian Literature is published on a very sad note. Patrick Alexander, the former head of Penn State University Press, passed away in 2024, leaving behind an unparalleled legacy of courtesy, care, kindness, and professionalism by which, I, among hundreds of others were blessed for many years. IJPL is as much a labor of love for me as it was for our dear Patrick from the outset. His encouragement, the support he provided at every stage of our progress and growth, and his unrelenting truthfulness when it came to constructive criticism got us where we are today with this journal.It behooves me to tell a story about Patrick to show the extent of his commitment to his task. On a business trip to New York City where at the time I was employed, he remembered to call me (one of hundreds, if not thousands, of authors he knew) and asked to meet for coffee, lunch, or dinner. Basically, he wanted to meet no matter what to talk about the journal. He found the time in his busy schedule to meet me at the Harvard Club of Manhattan, where I apologetically hosted him. Apologetically, because I knew how unassuming he was in my dealings with him, and I wanted to make sure we were eating there only as an experience and not to boast that I was a member. I told him I was only a member because my work at the time required that I would wine and dine and IMPRESS folks for a think tank and recruitment of its overseeing board I was in charge of at the time. I never forget his reaction: “Calm down, sometimes we have to walk through hell to reach heaven.”To be short, he was amazing at putting folks at ease. He was a mensch, a friend, the best guide one could ask for in publication and if the matter was something else he would do his utmost to tread a productive path by other means: he was most of all a genuine human being. Patrick, my friend, you are missed more than you know by your family, your friends, and those who worked with you every day. I am not much of a believer in heaven or hell, but if there is a heaven, you are there; otherwise, many of us are in some real trouble (a page out of his fantastic sense of humor). You are missed my friend and this issue of IJPL is dedicated to you, to your spirit of professionalism, and to your humane ways. May you rest in peace and know that you built so many glorious careers selflessly and concernedly. You should also know that world is with your loss a far worse place.