Jalal Al-e Ahmad

 

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

Personal life

Originally from the small village of Owrazan in Taleghan mountains, 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.

Political Life

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.

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.

Short stories

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

"The Chinese flower pot" "The postman" "The treasure" "The Pilgrimage" "Gonya(The Sin)"

• ...

Critical essays

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

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"

travelogues

• "A straw in Mecca"
• "A journey to Russia"
• "A journey to Europe"
• "The land of Azrael"
• "A journey to America"

Translations

• "The Gambler" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky,
• "L'Etranger" by Albert Camus,
• "Les mains sales" by Jean-Paul Sartre,
• "Return from the U.S.S.R." by Andre Gide,
• "Rhinoceros" by Eugène Ionesco,
• ...

External links

• "A stone upon a grave" in Persian: http://jalalealeahmad.blogspot.com/
• Al-i Ahmad, Jalal A biography by Iraj Bashiri, University of Minnesota.

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