Misinformation

 [Khamsa [manuscript] / ir Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī], approximately 1253-1325: RARESF 745.670955 AM5K (image 416)

Censorship is a universal issue that fuels misinformation. When voices are silenced, a biased and distorted view of the world emerges.

Explore how literature, art and poetry have been used to preserve perspectives, maintain traditions and resist censorship.

Find out more about the objects:

View our Collection discovery page to find a selection of digitised items from the exhibition.

[Illustrated manuscript of Niẓāmı̄'s Khamsa copied by al-Abd Ibrāhīm at Astarabad, Persia]. [manuscript]. Niẓāmī Ganjavī. AH 915-916 (1509-1510 AD): RARESF 091 N65K

Items from the collection on display:

• Basseghi, S. Khoshnami, E. Freedom is not Free
• Dihlavī, A.K. [Khamsa [manuscript] / ir Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī]
• Ganjavī, N. [Illustrated manuscript of Niẓāmı̄'s Khamsa copied by al-Abd Ibrāhīm at Astarabad, Persia]
• Various. The mirror of my heart : a thousand years of Persian poetry by women / introduced and translated by Dick Davis

Dig deeper into the issues:

Visit the Library to access books from our collection. Articles and eBooks from subscription databases are available to anyone onsite or to Victorian residents from home with Library Membership. Resources available from external sources are noted, these don't require membership to view.

Books

All hardcopy books from our collection are available to be viewed in the library. Items in onsite or offsite storage can be ordered in the view using free State Library Victoria membership

• Blair, S.S. Text and Image in Medieval Persian Art (also available as an eBook)
• Brosius, M. The Persians an Introduction
• Dabashi, H. The world of Persian literary humanism (also available as an eBook)
• Daryaee, T. Sasanian Persia - The Rise and Fall of an Empire
• Daneshvar, S. A Persian requiem : a novel / translated by Roxane Zand
• Farrokhzad, F. Sin : selected poems of Forugh Farrokhzad / translated by Sholeh Wolpe
• Hedayat, S. The Blind Owl
• Nafisi, A. Reading Lolita in Tehran, Things I've Been Silent About, The Republic of Imagination
• Nizāmī, G. The Nizāmī ms. from the library of the Shah of Persia, now in the Metropolitan museum at New York
• Parsipur, S. Women without Men
• Satrapi, M. Persepolis
• Zarghamee, R. Discovering Cyrus : the Persian conqueror astride the ancient world
• Various. A history of Persian literature / general editor, Ehsan Yarshater
• Various. The literature of pre-Islamic Iran : companion volume I to A history of Persian literature / edited by Ronald E. Emmerick & Maria Macuch ; general editor, Ehsan Yarshater

Web resources

• ALIA Freedom to Read 2023 wrap 

  Over the course of 2023, ALIA witnessed a significant increase in challenges to the freedom to read in Australia. In public libraries and schools across the country, there was an unprecedented number of complaints, challenges, and protests targeting books, library displays, programs and events. From March 2023, the ALIA team set up a reporting mechanism to collect data around these challenges and incidents through the Freedom to Read page. This report summarises their findings from 2023.

Born in Iran and now based in Melbourne, Sofi Basseghi researched Persian poetry and illuminated manuscripts in the Library’s collection to create a new video work and soundscape. Her work highlights the vital role of the arts in preserving perspectives and experiences that have been deliberately suppressed, particularly those of women.

Learn more about the contributors on the Make Believe: Encounters with Misinformation webpage.

This article is available through the National eDeposit and can be read onsite in any State Library around Australia

• Dr. Basseghi, S. (2023). The Echoing Words of Persian Women: A Glimpse Into the Uprising, Diaspora and a Millennium of Resistance The Bulletin / Women's Art Register, 73, 9-14

RSS Feed - recent journal articles available from State Library Victoria

Look at some of the most recent articles on the topic of misinformation and censorship. If you are a Victorian resident (with a free library membership) you can browse journal articles on this topic from home. Any visitor can view this content onsite in the library.