Jalal Al-e-Ahmad

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jalal Al-e-Ahmad (December 2, 1923- September 9, 1969) was an Iranian writer, and social and political critic.

Jalal Al-e-Ahmad
Jalal Al-e-Ahmad

Contents

[edit] Personal life

Jalal was born in a religious family in Tehran as his father was an Islamic cleric. He pursued academic studies and received an MA in Persian literature from Tehran University. In 1950, he married Simin Daneshvar, a well-known Persian novelist. Jalal and Simin were infertile, a topic that was reflected in some of Jalal's works. He died in Asalem, a rural region in the north of Iran, inside a cottage which was built almost entirely by himself. He was buried in Firouzabadi mosque in Ray, Iran.

[edit] Political Life

[edit] Literary Life

Jalal used a colloquial style in prose. In this sense, he is a follower of avant-garde Persian novelists like Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh. Since the subjects of his works (novels, essays, travelogues and ethnographic monographs) are usually cultural, social and political issues, symbolic representations and sarcastic expressions are regular patterns of his books. A distinct characteristic of his writings is his honest examination of subjects, regardless of possible reactions from political, social or religious powers.

Under the recommendation of Richard Nelson Frye, Al-e-Ahmad spent a summer at Harvard University, as part of a distinguished visiting fellowship organized by Henry Kissinger for supporting promising Iranian intellectuals.(Frye, Greater Iran, p.103)

Jalal rigorously supported Nima Yushij (father of modern Persian poetry) and had an important role in acceptance of Nima's revolutionary style.

[edit] Novels and Novellas

  • "The school principal"
  • "By the pen"
  • "The tale of beehives"
  • "The cursing of the land"
  • "A stone upon a grave"

Many of his novels, including the first two in the list above, have been translated into English.

[edit] Short stories

  • "The setar"
  • "Of our suffering"
  • "Someone else's child"
  • "Pink nail polish"

"The Chinese flower pot" "The postman" "The treasure" "The Pilgrimage"

  • ...

[edit] Criticial essays

  • "Seven essays"
  • "Hurried investigations"
  • "Plagued by the West" or "Westoxication"
  • ...

[edit] Monographs

Jalal traveled to far-off, usually poor, regions of Iran and tried to document their life, culture and problems. Some of these monographs are:

  • "Owrazan"
  • "Tat people of Block-e-Zahra"

[edit] travelogues

[edit] Translations

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../j/a/l/Jalal_Al-e-Ahmad_89a3.html"
In other languages