Nobel obsession in ... Iran

       I've lost count of how often I've said it, but if your measure of success is nabbing a Nobel, you're doing it wrong. Alas, it remains seen as national validation -- and, even worse, folks have it all wrong. The latest example ?

Our literature has moved toward generalization, and there are very few young poets and writers who pay attention to daily issues. If this trend continues, we will tend to the popular literature and will lose our chance of winning the Nobel Literature for Iran in other years, too.

       So author and critic Fathollah Beeniyaz, in Iranian literature needs translation institutes to be noticed internationally.
       Oh, no -- popular literature. Ugh .....

       Sure, translation is key -- but Iran is actually not too badly served internationally, and it would be hard to believe that Mahmoud Dowlatabadi (The Colonel, etc.) and Shahrnush Parsipur (Women without Men) aren't in the Nobel-running more often than not.

       (Pro-tip, if Iran wants more general literary international recognition: join the conventions ! (the copyright ones, Berne and UCC ... come on, guys, just do it ...). And stop with the censorship nonsense.)

       (As to the Nobel, I remind you -- and them: it's not just you -- the Dutch haven't ever won one either.)