Jalal Al-e-Ahmad

Jalal Al-e Ahmad (1923-1969) was an Iranian writer and social/political critic.

Personal Life

He was born in a religious family in Tehran. His father was a cleric, but Jalal pursued academic studies and received an MA in Persian literature from Tehran University. In 1950, he married Simin Daneshvar, another successful Persian writer. Jalal and Simin were infertile, a topic that was mirrored in some of Jalal's works. He died in Asalem (اسالم), a rural region in north of Iran, inside a cottage which was built almost entirely by him. He was buried in Firouzabadi Mosque in Rey city.

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 subject of his works (novels, essays, travelogues and monographs) is usually cultural, social and political issues, symbolic representations and sarcastic expressions are a regular pattern of his books. Jalal rigorously supported Nima Yushij (father of modern Persian poetry) and had an important role in acceptance of Nima's revolutionary style. Some of Jalal's works has been published after his sudden death. It caused controversies in literary circles, as if it is right to publish an author's very personal drafts or not. For example, there is a big difference between what was published by Jalal himself as a brief report of his travel to America and what can be found in his private notes (which was published after his death). However, it can not be denied that a distinct characteristic of his writings was honest examination of subjects, regardless of possible reactions from political, social or religious powers.

Novels

"The school principal" (مدیر مدرسه), "By the pen" (نون والقلم), "The Story of hives" (سرگذشت کندوها), "The curse of the earth" (نفرین زمین), "A stone on a tomb" (سنگی بر گوری). The first two novels have been translated to English.

Short Stories

"Sitar" (سه تار), "Of our pain" (از رنجی که می بریم), "Child of others" (بچه ی مردم), "A pink nail paint" (لاک صورتی) and etc.

Criticial essays

"Seven essays" (هفت مقاله), "Hurried investigations" (ارزیابی شتابزده), "Westernization" (غرب زدگی), and etc.

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: "Ourazan" (اورازن), "Tat people of Block-e-Zahra" (تات نشینان بلوک زهرا), and etc.

travelogues

"A straw in Mecca" (خسی در میقات), "A travel to Russia" (سفر روس), "A travel to Europe" (سفر فرنگ), "The land of Azrael" (ولایت عزرائیل), "A travel to America" (سفر به آمریکا).

Translations

"The Gambler" (قمارباز) by Dostoyevsky, "L'Etranger" (بیگانه) by Albert Camus, "Les mains sales" (دستهای آلوده) by Jean-Paul Sartre, "Return from the U.S.S.R." (بازگشت از شوروی) by Andre Gide, "Rhinoceros" (کرگردن) by Eugene Ionesco, and etc.

Links

• Full text of "A stone on a tomb" (سنگی بر گوری) in Persian: http://jalalealeahmad.blogspot.com/

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