Cyrus Atabay (6 September 1929 – 26 January 1996) was a Persian-German poet. He mostly wrote in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and also translated works of

Persian literature Persian literature ( fa, ادبیات فارسی, Adabiyâte fârsi, ) comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources h ...

into German. Atabay was decorated on numerous occasions for his literary efforts, including the

Adelbert von Chamisso Prize The Adelbert von Chamisso Prize (German ''Adelbert-von-Chamisso-Preis'') was a German literary award established in 1985, given to a work whose author's mother tongue is not German, as was the case for Adelbert von Chamisso. It was offered by the R ...

in 1990 and the Hugo-Jacobi-Preis in 1957.

Biography

Cyrus Atabay was born in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

as the son of Hadi Atabay and

Hamdamsaltaneh Pahlavi Hamdamsaltaneh Pahlavi ( fa, همدم‌السلطنه پهلوی; 22 February 1903 – 1 January 1992) was the first child and daughter of Reza Shah of Iran and Maryam Savadkoohi. Biography She was born on 22 February 1903 in Tehran and died ...

, the first daughter of

Reza Shah , , spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort) Turan Amirsoleimani Esmat Dowlatshahi , issue = Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess Shams Mohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza P ...

. Before turning 8 years old, Cyrus was sent to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

by his father to attend school; he lived in Germany during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. After the war, he lived in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and Switzerland. In Switzerland, Cyrus's talent for poetry was noted by author Max Rychner, and in Germany by

Gottfried Benn Gottfried Benn (2 May 1886 – 7 July 1956) was a German poet, essayist, and physician. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. He was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize in 1951. Biography and work Family and beginnings Go ...

; both wrote positively about him. His works were published for the first time in 1948 in ''Die Tat'' ("The deed"), a Swiss journal. In 1951, Cyrus returned to Germany from Switzerland and studied literature at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (1952–1960). As a student in Munich, his "first three poetry collections" were published, in 1956, 1958 and 1960 respectively. In 1965, Cyrus published his first work of translation, consisting of a selection of ''

ghazals The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a p ...

'' originally written by the Medieval Persian poet

Hafez Khwāje Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī ( fa, خواجه شمس‌‌الدین محمّد حافظ شیرازی), known by his pen name Hafez (, ''Ḥāfeẓ'', 'the memorizer; the (safe) keeper'; 1325–1390) and as "Hafiz", ...

. In 1978, Cyrus moved to London where he met

Elias Canetti Elias Canetti (; bg, Елиас Канети; 25 July 1905 – 14 August 1994) was a German-language writer, born in Ruse, Bulgaria to a Sephardic family. They moved to Manchester, England, but his father died in 1912, and his mother took her ...

and

Erich Fried Erich Fried (6 May 1921 – 22 November 1988) was an Austrian-born poet, writer, and translator. He initially became known to a broader public in both Germany and Austria for his political poetry, and later for his love poems. As a writer, he mo ...

. He moved back to Germany in 1983 where he lived until his death.

Awards

*1957: Hugo-Jacobi-Preis *1983: full member of the

Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste in München (Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts) is an association of renowned personalities in Munich, Bavaria. It was founded by the Free State of Bavaria in 1948, continuing a tradition established in 1808 by ...

(Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts)) *1990:

*1993: Member of

Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung The Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (in English German Academy for Language and Literature) was founded on 28 August 1949, on the 200th birthday of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt. It is seated in Darmstadt, ...

(the German Academy for Language and Literature)

Publications

*''Die Worte der Ameisen''. Düsseldorf: Classen Verlag, 1971, 100 pp. *''Gesange von Morgen: Neue Iranische Lyrik''. Hamburg: Classen Verlag, 1968, 126 pp. *Hafis, Rumi, Omar Chajjam; übertragen von Cyrus Atabay: ''Die schönsten Gedichte aus dem klassischen Persien.'' Herausgegeben und mit einem Nachwort Versehen von Kurt Scharf. 4th ed. Munich: C. H. Beck, 2015.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atabay, Cyrus 20th-century Iranian poets People of Pahlavi Iran 1929 births 1996 deaths Iranian writers in German Iranian expatriates in Germany German-language poets Translators from Persian Writers from Tehran Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Iranian expatriates in England