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Roya Hakakian

ロヤ・ハカキアン

Roya Hakakian

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
Tehran, Iran
Nationality
Iran, United States
Languages
Persian, English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
Tehran (birth–until emigration) → United States (residence after emigration) → New York (base of operations/residence)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Journalist, Lecturer
Active Years
1993-
Affiliations
Council on Foreign Relations (member), Yale University Davenport College (fellow/teacher), Wilson Center for International Scholars (visiting fellow), Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (founding member), Refugees International (board member), Hadassah-Brandeis Institute (scholar), Connecticut Immigrant & Refugee Coalition (honorary board), SNF Agora Institute (Johns Hopkins University) visiting fellow
Memberships
Council on Foreign Relations, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, Refugees International (board)
Influenced By
Ahmad Shamlou, Allen Ginsberg, Harold Bloom (literary critic)
Influenced
Younger writers addressing Iranian-American and exile experiences, Immigrant and human-rights activists

Education

Brooklyn College
Psychology
Country: United States
Studied poetry during college and studied under Allen Ginsberg.

Awards

Guggenheim Fellowship
2008
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Latifeh Yarshater Book Award
2006
Work: For the Sake of Water
Organization: Persian Heritage Foundation / Association for Iranian Studies
Result: 受賞
Elle magazine Best Nonfiction Book
2004
Work: Journey from the Land of No
Organization: Elle (magazine)
Result: 受賞
Pomegranate Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature
2025
Organization: American Sephardi Federation
Result: 受賞
Connecticut Center for the Book Best Memoir
2005
Work: Journey from the Land of No
Organization: Connecticut Center for the Book
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran

2004 Memoir / Non-fiction

A memoir covering 1974–1984, portraying the author's girlhood during Iran's revolutionary transformation and illuminating changes faced by women, the Jewish community, and secular Iranians.

exilecoming-of-agepolitical repression
Translations
  • Translated into Dutch
  • Translated into Spanish
  • Translated into German

Assassins of the Turquoise Palace

2011 Investigative journalism / Non-fiction

An investigative account of the 1992 Mykonos restaurant assassinations in Berlin, reconstructing events through testimonies, documents, and interviews to examine state-sponsored violence and justice.

political assassinationlaw and justiceinternational affairs

A Beginner's Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious

2021 Essayistic non-fiction (second-person narrative)

A second-person narrative guide that walks immigrants through arrival, naturalization, and the cultural realities of America; written for both newcomers and native-born readers to gain new perspective.

immigrant experiencecitizenship and assimilationobservations on American society

For the Sake of Water

1993 Poetry (Persian)

A Persian poetry collection that marked Hakakian as a notable new voice in Persian poetry; nominated for poetry book of the year in Iran (1993).

memoryexileinner life

A Name to Worship

Poetry (Persian)

Another Persian-language poetry collection; detailed publication information is not available.

religion and spiritualitylanguage and culture

Bibliography

  • Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran
  • Assassins of the Turquoise Palace
  • For the Sake of Water
  • A Name to Worship
  • A Beginner's Guide to America: For the Immigrant and the Curious

Adaptations

  • Collaboration on short documentary 'Armed & Innocent'

Translations of Works

  • Journey from the Land of No has been translated into Dutch, Spanish, and German.

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical, observant nonfictioncombines personal memoir with political analysis
Recurring Motifs
exile and identitycensorship and repressionwomen's experiences and coming-of-age

Legacy

Roya Hakakian, an Iranian-born Jewish writer, has been a prominent voice on exile, women's issues, and censorship. Through memoir and investigative work she has gained international recognition and influenced scholarship, human-rights advocacy, and immigrant-support movements.

Academic Societies

  • Association for Iranian Studies (awards/publication connections)
  • Yale University affiliated projects

Archives

  • Related materials are likely held by affiliated institutions (universities and human-rights organizations).

In Popular Culture

  • Appearances on CBS This Morning, PBS, MSNBC and other programs
  • Public talks and university lectures reaching broad civic audiences

Quotes

  • 'Journey from the Land of No' is an immensely moving, extraordinarily eloquent, and passionate memoir.
    Source: Harold Bloom (Yale University) — review comment (2004)
  • Hakakian's beautiful book mercilessly exposes one of these crimes and stands as tribute to the courageous dissidents and lawyers.
    Source: Christopher Hitchens — Slate review (2011)

Trivia

  • In 2015 her Gmail, Facebook and personal phone were hacked in an incident believed to involve the government of Iran.
  • Received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2008.
  • Gained wide attention for 'Assassins of the Turquoise Palace' (2011).
  • Has contributed essays to The Washington Post and The New York Review of Books.