Ahmad Shamlou
Ahmad Shamlou, also known under his pen name A. Bamdad ) was an Iranian poet, writer, and journalist. Shamlou was arguably the most influential poet of modern Iran. His initial poetry was influenced by and in the tradition of Nima Yooshij. In fact, Abdolali Dastgheib, Iranian literary critic, argues that Shamlou is one of the pioneers of modern Persian poetry and has had the greatest influence, after Nima, on Iranian poets of his era. Shamlou's poetry is complex, yet his imagery, which contributes significantly to the intensity of his poems, is accessible. As the base, he uses the traditional imagery familiar to his Iranian audience through the works of Persian masters like Hafez and Omar Khayyam. For infrastructure and impact, he uses a kind of everyday imagery in which personified oxymoronic elements are spiked with an unreal combination of the abstract and the concrete thus far unprecedented in Persian poetry, which distressed some of the admirers of more traditional poetry.
Shamlou has translated extensively from French to Persian and his own works are also translated into a number of languages. He has also written a number of plays, edited the works of major classical Persian poets, especially Hafez. His thirteen-volume Ketab-e Koucheh is a major contribution in understanding the Iranian folklore beliefs and language. He also wrote fiction and screenplays, contributing to children's literature, and journalism.
Biography
Early life
Ahmad Shamlou was born to Haydar Shamlou and Kowkab Araqi on 12 December 1925, in Tehran to a military family. Ahmad was the second child and the only son in a family of six children. In the manner of many children who grow up in families with military parents, he received his early education in various towns, including Khash and Zahedan in the southeast of Iran, and Mashhad in the northeast, and Rasht in the north. Shamlou's childhood and adolescence were neither privileged nor easy and home was not an environment that could foster his sensitivities and he often found solace in solitude. Moving with his family from one town to the next proved a hurdle to Shamlou's education.By 1941, his high school education still incomplete, he left Birjand for Tehran. He intended to attend the German-established Tehran Technical School, one of the best secondary schools of that period and learn the German language. He was admitted to this school on the condition that he be demoted two years. Soon in 1942, he and the rest of the family once again left Tehran to move to Gorgan. In 1945, he made a final attempt at completing his high school degree in Urmia, but failed. At age 29, following the fall of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, Shamlou was arrested for being a member of the communist Tudeh Party of Iran and imprisoned for over a year.
Early work
Shamlou's debut work, Forgotten Songs, was a collection of classical and modern poetry which was published in 1947 with an introduction of Ebrahim Dilmaghanian. In 1948, he started to write in a literary monthly called Sokhan-no. Two years later, his first short story, "The Woman Behind the Brass Door", was published. His second collection of poems, Manifesto, was published in 1951. He showed inclinations toward socialist ideology. He got a job at the Hungarian embassy as their cultural advisor.His third collection of poems, Metals and Sense, was banned and destroyed by the police. His translations of Gold in Dirt, by Sigmund Motritz, and the voluminous novel The Heartless Man's Sons by Mór Jókai, together with all data gathered for his work on the colloquial culture of urban Iranian life were also confiscated and destroyed. In 1954, he was jailed for 14 months. in 1955, he translated and published three novels by European writers. He became the editor-in-chief of Bamshad literary magazine in 1956.
1957–1959
He rose to fame from his next volume of poetry, Fresh Air, published in 1957. Ziya Movahed, poet and philosopher, commented that "Anyone who reads Fresh Air today can see that this language, this texture, is different from anything else. In contemporary poetry, few have accomplished this kind of rhythm as Shamlou has. Fresh Air was the greatest event in our poetry—after Hafiz".His translation of Barefoot, a novel by Zaharia Stancu, was released in 1958, establishing Shamlou's authority as a translator. In 1959, he began publishing short stories for children, as well as directing documentary films and working for film studios.
1960–1969
In 1960, a new collection of his poems, The Garden of Mirrors, was released.In 1961, he became editor-in-chief of Ketab-e-Hafte, a magazine that changes the tradition and language of literary journalism in Iran. In 1962, his translations of André Gide and Robert Merle were published. Two collections of poetry were published in 1964: Ayda in Mirror and Moment and Eternity. A new collection of poems was released in 1965: Ayda, Trees, Memories and the Dagger, as well as a new translation. He also began his third attempt to compile The Book of Alley. In 1966, another new collection of poems was published, called Phoenix in the Rain, and his literary magazine was banned by the Ministry of Information.
In 1967, he became editor-in-chief of Khusheh. His new translation of Erskine Caldwell was published, and he participated in the formation of the Union of Iranian Writers and gave several poetry readings at Iranian universities. In 1968, he began his study of Hafez, the classical grand poet of the Persian language; translated García Lorca's poems and Song of Solomon from the Old Testament; organized a week of poetry reading for established and new Iranian poets, which was very well received. The poems debuted at this event appear in a voluminous book edited by Shamlou. In 1969, his weekly magazine was closed down by the police. Of The Air And Mirrors, a selection of older poetry, was published, together with his collection of new poems, Odes for the Earth.
1970–1979
In 1970, Blossoming in the Mist was published. He also directed a few documentary films for television and published several short stories for children. In 1971, he redid some of his earlier translations.In 1972, he taught Persian literature at the University of Tehran. Several audio cassettes were released of Shamlou reciting other classical and modern poets' work. He obtained membership in the Academy of Persian Language and Literature. He published several new translations and wrote a few film scripts. He traveled to Paris for medical treatment.
In 1973, two new collections, Abraham in Fire and Doors and the Great China Wall, were released, along with several new translations. "The Song of Abraham in Fire" in the collection, Abraham in Fire is one of the most well-crafted and famous contemporary Persian poems written by Ahmad Shamlou. Shamlou connects his poem to the collective consciousness of the whole world, presenting characters of the hero and even the social scapegoat rather in a curious way as we read about the case of a man who sacrifices himself for land and love and, yet, who is betrayed by others due to their ignorance and biases. In 1975, he published his work and study of Hafez. In 1976, he travelled to the United States and gave poetry readings in many cities. He participated in the San Francisco Poetry Festival before returning to Iran.
In 1977, he published his new poem, Dagger on the Plate. He left Iran in protest of the Shah's regime and stayed in the United States for a year, giving lectures in American universities.
In 1978, he left the United States for Britain to act as the editor-in-chief for a new publication called Iranshahr; he resigned after 12 issues and returned to Iran just after the advent of the Iranian Revolution. He rejoined the Union of Iranian Writers and began publishing a new periodical, Ketab-e Jom'e to great success. 1978 was a very active year in his life, and he published many poems and translations, as well as giving numerous lectures and readings. He was also elected to the membership of the Writer's Union's leadership. 1979 was also a year of intense activity. The first and second volumes of The Book of Alley went to print. He was also re-elected as a member of the Writer's Union's leadership.
1980–2000
Starting in 1980, owing to the harsh political situation in Iran, he led a rather secluded life that would last for the next eight years, working with Ayda on The Book Of Alley, as well as many other literary endeavors, including a translation of And Quiet Flows The Don by Mikhail Sholokhov. In 1984, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.In 1988, he was invited by Interlit, the World Literary Congress. He toured Europe giving many lectures and readings. His complete collection of poems was printed in Germany, and he returned to Iran. In 1990, he toured the United States. Human Rights and The Fund For Freedom of Expression presented him with their annual award. Several works were published in his poetry and his overall literary contribution.
In 1991, he toured Europe again and returned to Iran for another four years of intensive work. That same year, he won the Freedom of Expression Award given by the New York–based Human Rights Watch. In 1992, his work Sacred Words appeared in Armenian and English. In 1994, he toured Sweden, invited by his Swedish editor Masoud Dehghani Firouzabadi, giving numerous lectures and readings.
In 1995, he finished the translation of And Quiet Flows The Don. There was a special gathering in Toronto of Iranian writers and critics to discuss Shamlou's contribution to Persian poetry. His Aurora! was also published in Spanish. In 1999, he was presented with the Stig Dagerman Prize by the Swedish Foundation.