 Ahmad Shamlu
Born in 1925 in Tehran, Ahmad Shamlu was an outstanding & controversial poet of modern Iran. He started by publishing his poets at the age of 17 under the pen name of A. Bamdad & stormed quickly the rigid world of Iranian poetry by popularising the concept of ?free verses? initiated before him by the great Nima Yushij. Shamlu considered Nima a true master, & decided to follow his unique style of writing & poetry. He was a self-educated man & learnt Russian & French languages in his younger years. He quickly became the leader of young Iranian poets like Forugh Farokhzad, Nader Naderpour, Sohrab Sepehri, Mehdi Akhavan Saales, Simin Behbahani and many others.
A socialist thinker, Shamlu tried to introduce radical ideas into Iranian literature. He introduced modern styles from Paul Eluard, Maiakovsky, & Federico Garcia Lorca, of whom he translated and adapted the 'Blood Wedding'. Shamlu published some political poems that criticized Shah's regime & dictatorship. He was sent to jail several times & was forced to stop publishing any articles that were dimmed a threat to security of the country. He divorced from politics to dedicate himself to writing, translating, poetry and publishing.His work covered various grounds. He published a series of romantic, passionate and legendary poems that includes 'Mirror Garden?, 'Aida In Mirror', 'To Open In The Haze' Phoenix In The Rain'. He soon became a popular poet, especially with the younger generation. He made some outrageous comments about legendary poets in Iran. In particular, his criticism of the epic Shah Nameh for stirring nationalist fervour did not go down nicely in the Iranian media. He later said that Ferdowsi was a great poet, it was his attempt to glorify kings of old Persia that he did not approve.Shamlu was an enthusiast who would work on several projects at the same time. These included: translating, editing, writing for magazines, collecting idioms, proverbs, slang and popular expressions from all over Iran. One of his greatest works is called the Book Of the Alley. After undergoing several major operations, the great poet died in Tehran in 2000. He was buried in a small cemetery with other Iranian poets and intellectuals, including Mohammad Jaefar Puyandeh and Mohammad Mokhtari.  His Life At A Glance 1925. Saturday December 12,: Ahmad Shamlu is born in Tehran to Kowkab and Haydar Shamlu. His father, Haydar, is an army officer.1943-4. Ahmad is arrested in Tehran and sent to prison in Rasht. He is then released.
Shortly after his release he is arrested together with his father by the separatist local government of Azarbaijan. They are kept waiting for execution in front of a firing squad. for hours before the order of release arrives.1945. Moves with his family to Rezaieh (Orumieh) to go to secondary school again, but returns to Tehran and leaves school for good.1947. Marries for the first time. This marriage gives him four children: Siavash, Cyrus, S⭢n, and SⱩ1954. After the CIA-backed coup in 19 August,1953 and overthrow of Mosaddeq's government, which was the most popular government since the 1906 revolution, Shamlu had to live in hiding for six months. Then he was arrested and sent to prison to be released 13 months later.1958. His father dies.1961-63 . Divorces his second wife. Falls in love with ©d⮠1964 . Marries Ida 1965 . Research on Ketab-e-Kucheh (Book of Street), his monumental encyclopedia of folklore, is started for the third time (his documents and notes have twice been lost in police raids and family disputes).1971 . His mother dies. 1972. Goes to Paris for a back operation. 1977. Leaves Iran in protest to repression there. 1979-80 The Islamic Revolution succeeds. Shamlu returns to Iran, full of skeptical concerns.1997. Undergoes two other major operations: 1. Semoropoplytieal by-pass grafting as treatment of a gangrenous foot.
2. Through-knee amputation of the right leg.and now ...
Recovers from the initial shock and Resumes work on Ketabeh-Kucheh .  |
