![Golshiri-Esfahan-1975](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Golshiri-Esfahan-1975.jpg)
Houshang Golshiri ( fa, هوشنگ گلشیری; March 16, 1938
[''A Hundred Years of Storytelling in Iran'', ]Amir Abedini
Amir Abedini ( fa, امیر عابدینی; born Hassan Abedini on 13 December 1949) is an Iranian politician, football club chairman, former professional footballer and member of the City Council of Tehran.
Political career
During 1980s, he he ...
, p. 274. – June 5, 2000) was an Iranian fiction writer, critic and editor. He was one of the first Iranian writers to use modern literary techniques, and is recognized as one of the most influential writers of Persian prose of the 20th century.
Biography
Early life
Golshiri was born in
Isfahan in 1938 and raised in
Abadan. He came from a large family of modest circumstances. From 1955 to 1974, Golshiri lived in Isfahan, where he completed a bachelor's degree in Persian at the
University of Isfahan
The University of Isfahan (UI) (Persian: دانشگاه اصفهان Dāneshgāh-e Esfāhān) is a state-operated university located in Isfahan, Iran. It is ranked among the top 10 universities in Iran. The university is located on Azadi square ...
and taught elementary and high school there and in surrounding towns.
Writing career
Golshiri began writing fiction in the late 1950s. His publication of short stories in ''Payam-e Novin'' and elsewhere in the early 1960s, his establishment of ''Jong-e Isfahan'' (1965/73), the chief literary journal of the day published outside of
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 ...
, and his participation in efforts to reduce official censorship of imaginative literature brought him a reputation in literary circles.
Golshiri's first collection of short stories was ''As Always'' (1968). He became famous for his first novel ''
Prince Ehtejab'' (1968/69). Translated in ''Literature East & West 20'' (1980), it is the story of aristocratic decadence, implying the inappropriateness of monarchy for Iran. Shortly after production of the popular feature film based on the novel,
Pahlavi authorities arrested Golshiri and incarcerated him for nearly six months.
An autobiographical and less successful novel called ''Christine and Kid'' came out in 1971, followed by a collection of short stories called ''My Little Prayer Room'' 1975, and a novel called ''Ra'i's Lost Lamb'' 1977.
In 1978, Golshiri travelled to the United States. Back in Iran in early 1979, Golshiri married
Farzaneh Taheri
Farzaneh ( fa, فرزانه, ''Farzāneh'', meaning wise, intelligent, or highly knowledgeable), also transliterated as Farzana, Farzona or Farzane, is a Persian given name for girls common in Iran, South Asia, and Central Asia. The masculine equiv ...
whom he credits with editing his subsequent writing and was active in the revitalized
Association of Iranian Writers, the editing of journals, literary criticism, and short-story writing. In the 1980s, he published ''
The Fifth Innocent'' (1980), ''
The Antique Chamber'' (1983), ''
The Story of the Fisherman and the Demon'' (1984), and ''
Five Treasures
5 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
5, five or number 5 may also refer to:
* AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era
* 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era
Literature
* ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram
* ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
'' (1989), which he published in
Stockholm during a visit to Europe in 1989. In 1990, under a pseudonym, Golshiri published a novella in translation called ''King of the Benighted'', an indictment of Iranian monarchy, engage
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 ...
,
the Tudeh Party, and the
Islamic Republic. A collection of Golshiri stories in translation was scheduled for publication in 1991 with the title ''Blood and Aristocrats and Other Stories''.
In the winter of 1998 he published ''
The Book of Genies'' and ''
Struggle of Image with Painter'', and in the autumn of 1999 he released a collection of articles called ''
Garden in Garden''.
In 1999 Golshiri was awarded the
Erich-Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque (, ; born Erich Paul Remark; 22 June 1898 – 25 September 1970) was a German-born novelist. His landmark novel '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1928), based on his experience in the Imperial German Army during Wor ...
Peace Prize for his struggle to promote democracy and human rights in Iran.
International Speeches and Readings
In 1989, in his first trip abroad after the revolution, Golshiri went to the Netherlands along with various cities in the UK and Sweden to give speeches and readings. In 1990, he traveled to the House of World Cultures in Berlin, Germany.
On this trip, he spoke and gave readings in various cities in Germany, Sweden, Denmark and France. In the spring two years later, he went to Germany, the United States, Sweden, and Belgium. In 1993, he visited Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium again.
Death
![Tomb of Houshang Golshiri](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Tomb_of_Houshang_Golshiri.JPG)
He died at Iran Mehr Hospital 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 ...
on 5 June 2000 at the age of 62 after suffering from
meningitis.
Golshiri Foundation
A cultural foundation was established after his death. It runs the prestigious
Hooshang Golshiri Literary Awards.
Works
* ''The Book of Genies'' (''Jen Nameh'')
* ''
Struggle of Image with Painter'' (''Jedal-e Naghsh ba Naghash'')
* ''
Garden in Garden'' (''Bagh dar Bagh'')
* ''The Story of the Fisherman and the Demon'' (''Hadis-e Mahigir va Div'')
* ''
The Fifth Innocent'' (''Massoum-e Panjom'')
* ''
Five Treasures
5 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
5, five or number 5 may also refer to:
* AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era
* 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era
Literature
* ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram
* ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
'' (''Panj Ganj'')
* ''Christine and Kid'' (''Keristin va Kid'')
* ''Ra'i's Lost Lamb (volume 1): Burial of the Living'' (''Barreh-ye Gomshodeh-ye ra'i: (jeld-e Avval) tadfin-e Zendegan'')
* ''My Little Prayer Room'' (''Namazkhaneh-ye kuchek-e man'')
* ''As Always'' (''Mesl-e hamisheh'')
* ''
Prince Ehtejab'' (''Shazdeh ehtejab'')
* ''The Antique Chamber'' (''Jobbeh'khaneh'')
Adaptations
* The novel ''Prince Ehtejab'' (''Shazdeh Ehtejab'') was adapted into a film with the same title by
Bahman Farmanara
Bahman Farmanara ( fa, بهمن فرمانآرا, Bahman Farmānārā; born 23 January 1942) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and film producer.
Bahman Farmanara is the second son in a family of four brothers and one sister. The fa ...
,1974
* The short story ''First Innocent'' (Masoome Aval) was adapted into a film with the title "''Tall Shadows of the Wind''" (''Sayehaye Bolande Bad'') by
Bahman Farmanara
Bahman Farmanara ( fa, بهمن فرمانآرا, Bahman Farmānārā; born 23 January 1942) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and film producer.
Bahman Farmanara is the second son in a family of four brothers and one sister. The fa ...
,1978
* In 2013,
Ali Zare Ghanat Nowi released ''Dad's Fragile Doll'' which narrates the story of a political prisoner who has a kid. The family gets upset with arresting the father but the girl dreams about killing the man who arrested him. The screenplay was adopted from a story by Houshang Golshiri with the same title. It won the best animation of veteran's festival in Australia.
See also
*
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 ...
References
External links
Golshiri foundation*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golshiri, Houshang
Iranian male short story writers
Iranian male novelists
Iranian novelists
Writers from Isfahan
Burials at Emamzadeh Taher
1938 births
2000 deaths
20th-century novelists
Iranian fiction writers
International Writing Program alumni
20th-century Iranian short story writers
20th-century male writers
Deaths from meningitis
Neurological disease deaths in Iran
Infectious disease deaths in Iran
Iranian Writers Association members