Mohammad-Ali Sepanlou (محمدعلی سپانلو) (November 20, 1940 – May 11, 2015) was an Iranian poet, author, and literary critic. Born in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, Iran. He has been a founder member, a member of the executive board, and editor of the journal of the Writers’ Association of Iran, in which capacity has opposed both the former regime of Shah

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...

and the

Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, speaking out against censorship. Sepanlou received his diploma from Dar ul-Funun high school. He graduated from

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

Faculty of Law in 1963. Throughout his literary career, Sepanlou published over 60 books. His works have been translated into English, French, German, Swedish, Dutch, and Arabic. Sepanlou also translated works of several renowned writers and poets,

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

and

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

as well as

Horace McCoy Horace Stanley McCoy (April 14, 1897 – December 15, 1955) was an American writer whose mostly hardboiled stories took place during the Great Depression. His best-known novel is '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' (1935), which was made into a ...

Yiannis Ritsos Yiannis Ritsos ( ; 1 May 1909 – 11 November 1990) was a Greek poet and communist and an active member of the Greek Resistance during World War II. While he disliked being regarded as a political poet, he has been called "the great poet of th ...

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he s ...

, and

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (; ; born Kostrowicki; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist and art critic of Poland, Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...

into Persian. He took part in many literary seminars and conferences around the world, introducing Iranian culture and literature to writers, critics, and book-enthusiasts in other countries. His book "Pioneer Writers of Iran", which is a selection of literary works of 20th Century Iranian writers, along with his review of their works, is among the educational literary sources which are being taught in many universities in Iran. He also tried his hand at acting and appeared in films by Amir Qavidel, Nasser Taghva’ee and Ali Hatami. Sepanlou, with his poetry collections, not only wrote historical material about Teheran, but also created masterful poetry. Sepanlou was always a vocal supporter of freedom of speech and press freedom – he was very active on freedom of speech in particular. Sepanlou was definitely one of the people subject to censorship and one of those who suffered because of it. Some of his works were either not printed at all, or if they were, only in strictly censored form. But he never really gave up. Some of his works were printed abroad to evade censorship. However, there are also a few works that Sepanlou wrote, but that haven't been published to this day. In one of his latest interview, he complained about the situation and said he was considering giving up writing entirely. He was married to Partow Nouriala. He died in Tehran in 2015.

Awards

Sepanlou was awarded the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and the

Max Jakob Memorial Award The Max Jakob Memorial Award recognizes an 'eminent scholarly achievement and distinguished leadership' in the field of heat transfer. Awarded annuallyIn the event that no nominee meets the requisite criteria in any given year, the award shall not b ...

for his scholarly and literary achievements.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sepanlou, Mohammad-Ali 20th-century Iranian poets Iranian literary critics Recipients of the Legion of Honour Writers from Tehran University of Tehran alumni 1940 births 2015 deaths Iranian male poets 20th-century Iranian male writers 21st-century Iranian poets Poets from Tehran