Nader Naderpour

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Nader Naderpour

Nader Naderpour (June 6, 1929 - February 18, 2000) was an Iranian-born poet.

Born to artistically and culturally educated parents in Tehran, Naderpour was sent to Europe upon completion of his secondary education to study literature at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1950. On his return to Iran, he took up a position in the Department of Arts and Culture. Meanwhile he became Editor-in-Chief of the monthly journal Honar va Mardom. Nader published his first poems in the 1940s and completed four collections by the 1970s. In 1957, Naderpour married Shahla Hirbod, and they had one daughter, Poupak. The couple separated in 1961.

In 1964, he went to Rome where he studied Italian language and literature. In 1968, Naderpour became one of the founding members of the Association of Writers of Iran. After returning to Iran in 1971, he took over as the director of "Goroohe Adabe Emrooz" (Contemporary Literature Department) in the Iranian National Radio and Television, where he directed many programs on the life and works of contemporary literary figures. He also served as editor at the magazine Namayesh. Naderpour fled the Iranian Revolution in 1980 for France and resided there until 1987. The Islamic Republic of Iran has banned all publication and distribution of Naderpour's works in that country.

He was elected to France's Authors Association, and participated in several conferences and gatherings. In 1987, he moved to California. During his residence in the United States, Naderpour gave several speeches and lectures at Harvard University, Georgetown University, UCLA, and UC Berkeley. He was an imagist, a musician and a wordsmith in one. A classic poet living in a modern world, in a modern style. He was regarded as one of the leaders of the movement of "New Poetry" in Iran and among other Persian speakers in Aghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. He published nine collections of poems, many of them translated into English, French, German, and Italian. Naderpour's poetry is rich in imagery and deeply imbedded in the texture of Persian language.

Naderpour was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature and was awarded the Human Rights Watch Hellman-Hammett Grant in 1993. In 1984, he married Jaleh Bassiri, to whom he dedicated his last collection of poems.

He died in Los Angeles in 2000 and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Following his death, his widow established The Nadorpour Foundation in Los Angeles in his memory.