Nader Naderpour (June 6, 1929 – February 18, 2000; ) was an Iranian
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
.
Among many Iranian poets who shaped up the New Persian Poetry or New Poetry (in
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: ''She'r-e Now''), Ali Esfandiari aka
Nima Yooshij
Nima Yooshij or Nimā Yushij (; 11 November 1895 – 6 January 1960), also called Nimā (), born Ali Esfandiari (), was a prominent Iranian poet. He is famous for his style of poetry which he popularised, called ''she'r-e now'' (, lit. "new po ...
,
Parviz Natel Khanlari
Parviz Natel Khanlari (; March 20, 1914 – August 23, 1990) was an Iranian literary scholar, linguist, author, researcher, politician, and professor at Tehran University.
Biography
Parviz Natel Khanlari graduated from Tehran University in 19 ...
, Nader Naderpour,
Forough Farrokhzad
Forugh Farrokhzad (; 28 December 1934 – 14 February 1967) was an influential Iranian poet and film director. She was a controversial modernist poet and an iconoclastic,* feminist author. Farrokhzad died in a car accident at the age of 32.
Ear ...
,
Mehdi Akhavan Saless,
Sohrab Sepehri
Sohrab Sepehri ( 7 October 1928 – 21 April 1980; ) was a notable Iranian poet and painter. He is considered to be one of the five most famous Iranian poets who have practiced modern poetry alongside Nima Youshij, Ahmad Shamlou, Mehdi Akhav ...
,
Fereydoon Moshiri,
Siavash Kasrai,
Ahmad Shamlu
Ahmad Shamlou (, ''Ahmad Šāmlū'' , also known under his pen name A. Bamdad ()) (December 12, 1925 – July 23, 2000) was an Iranian peoples, Iranian poet, writer, and journalist. Shamlou was arguably the most influential poet of modern Iran. ...
,
Hushang Ebtehaj, and
Mohammad-Reza Shafiei Kadkani
Mohammad-Reza Shafiei Kadkani (, also Romanized as "Mohammad–Reza Shafi'i Kadkani") (born 10 October 1939) is an Iranian writer, poet, literary critic, editor, and translator.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. His parents were both fluent in French and had a deep love for art, music and history. His father, Taghi Mirza, was a descendant of Reza Gholi Mirza, the eldest son of
Nader Shah
Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...
. The eldest of two brothers and three sisters, Naderpour grew up under the supervision and care of his culturally rich parents. His father, who died when Naderpour was only fourteen, was a skillful painter and also a man familiar with poetry and literature. It was he who taught young Naderpour
Persian literature
Persian literature 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 have been within Greater Iran including present-day ...
and classic poetry. When he was a preschooler, Naderpour would sit on his father's lap and be encouraged to read the newspaper every night. His father also had Naderpour memorize classical and modern poetry. His mother was a talented player of the string instrument the
tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...
, and she helped Naderpour to develop an appreciation for music.
In 1942 during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Naderpour entered Iran-Shahr High School in Tehran. A year later when Iran was occupied by the Allied military forces, Naderpour, like many other students of the time, got involved in politics, and he participated in a small nationalist party group. Later he joined the
Tudeh Party of Iran
The Tudeh Party of Iran is an Iranian communist party. Formed in 1941, with Soleiman Mirza Eskandari as its head, it had considerable influence in its early years and played an important role during Mohammad Mosaddegh's campaign to nationalize ...
(TPI), which became the major Communist Party of the country. Like Nima, Naderpour also published a number of poems in journals such as ''People'' (in Persian: ''Mardom''), ''Leader'' (in Persian: ''Rahbar''), and ''Our Iran'' (in Persian: ''Iran-e Maa''), which were all supported by TPI at the time.
By the time Naderpour graduated from high school in 1948, he had already left the Party. In fact, since 1946 Naderpour had been unhappy about the
Iran-Azerbaijan crisis, and like many other nationalist students, he was convinced that
Soviet communism
Before the perestroika reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev that promoted a more liberal form of socialism, the formal ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) was Marxism–Leninism, a form of socialism consisting of a centralise ...
could not make any provision for the independent nationalist communist movements in other countries. Subsequently, Naderpour worked wholeheartedly to ensure that Iran's parliamentary elections would be open, honest, and fair. He therefore became sympathetic to the
National Front (in Persian: ''Jebheh-ye Melli'') and its leader,
Mohammad Mosaddegh
Mohammad Mosaddegh (, ; 16 June 1882 – 5 March 1967) was an Iranian politician, author, and lawyer who served as the 30th Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953, elected by the 1950 Iranian legislative election, 16th Majlis. He was a membe ...
, and other nationalist champions in those elections.
In 1950 Naderpour was sent to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, France, to continue his education in French Language and Literature at the
Sorbonne University. During his stay in Paris, he not only became a freelance writer for various publications but he also wrote for the Third Force Party (in Persian: ''Nirooy-e Sevvom''), which Iranian ideologue and writer
Khalil Maleki had established under the aegis of the National Front in Iran. After receiving his BA degree, Naderpour returned to Tehran and started working in the private sector.
In 1960 Naderpour arranged the first modernist Persian poetry reading in Tehran, held at the Cultural Society of Iran & America (in Persian: ''Anjoman-e Farhangi-e Iran-o Amrika''). Later, he worked as a consultant at the Office of Dramatic Arts of the Ministry of Arts and Culture (in Persian: ''Vezaarat-e Farhang-o Honar''). He was also appointed as the Editor of ''Theater Magazine'' (in Persian: ''Majaleh-ye Namayesh''), and as the Editor-in-Chief of the ''Monthly Journal of Art and People'' (in Persian: ''Honar-o Mardom'').
In 1964 Naderpour traveled to Europe. In
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, he continued his studies on the Italian Language and Literature. He also spent some time in Paris, studying
French cinema
The cinema of France comprises the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe, with prima ...
, and devoting time to his own poetry.
In 1968, Naderpour became one of the thirty or so founding members of the first Association of Writers of Iran (in Persian: ''Kaanoon-e Nevisandegaan-e Iran''). He was also one of the signatories of its manifesto, along with several other famous Iranian writers and poets. When
Jalal Al-e-Ahmad
Seyyed Jalāl Āl-e-Ahmad (; December 2, 1923September 9, 1969) was a prominent Iranian novelist, short-story writer, translator, philosopher, socio-political critic, sociologist, as well as an anthropologist who was "one of the earliest and ...
, the driving force behind the Association, died in 1969, the Association chose Naderpour to speak on its behalf at the interment ceremony. For two consecutive years Naderpour was elected as a member of the steering committee for the Association of Writers of Iran. Later on, in 1977, he decided not to participate in the rejuvenation of the Association due to differences of opinion.
In 1971, Naderpour took over as the director of Contemporary Literature Department (in Persian: ''Gorooh-e Adab-e Emrooz'') in the
National Iranian Radio and Television
National Iranian Radio and Television (NIRT; , ''Râdyo Televizyon-e Melli-ye 'Irân'') was the first Pahlavi Iran, Iranian state broadcaster, which was established on June 19, 1971, following the merger of the country's radio and television serv ...
, where he directed many programs on the life and works of contemporary literary figures. Naderpour fled the
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...
in 1980 for France and resided there until 1987. He was elected to France's Authors' Association, and participated in several conferences and gatherings. In 1987, he moved to
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. During his residence in the United States, Naderpour gave several speeches and lectures at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
,
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
,
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
, and
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
. Naderpour was considered as the first Iranian poet who opened up exciting vistas of the new Persian poetry, and he was regarded as one of the leaders of the movement for the New Poetry or She'r-e Now in Iran and among other
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
speaking nations like
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
,
Tajikistan
Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
.
Death
Naderpour died from a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
in his
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
home on Friday 18 February 2000, at 11:00 AM. Visitors to the Los Angeles area often pay their respects to Naderpour by visiting his gravesite located at
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary is a cemetery and Morgue, mortuary located in the Westwood, Los Angeles, Westwood area of Los Angeles. It includes a crematory for cremation services. Its location is at 1218 Glendon Av ...
.
Shortly after Naderpour died, his widow Jaleh Bassiri established the Naderpour Foundation in Los Angeles. The aim of the Naderpour Foundation is to promote cross-cultural studies and comparative approaches to East-West literary tradition by focusing on the late poet's legacy.
Works
Naderpour is well known for his extensive research on Iran's contemporary poetry, and also his thorough, insightful analyses of Iranian poets (
Hafez
(), known by his pen name Hafez ( or 'the keeper'; 1325–1390) or Hafiz,
“Ḥāfeẓ” designates someoone who has learned the Qurʾān by heart" also known by his nickname Lisan al-Ghaib ('the tongue of the unseen'), was a Persian lyri ...
,
Ferdowsi
Abu'l-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi (also Firdawsi, ; 940 – 1019/1025) was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a single poet, and the gre ...
,
Omar Khayyam
Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) (Persian language, Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar ...
,
Mowlavi (Rumi), and others). In addition, he is recognized for his perceptive commentaries on Iran's recent history and his astute observations on Iranians' cultural and political challenges. Naderpour published his first poems in the 1940s and completed four collections by the 1970s. His poems have been translated into English, French, German, and Italian. Here is the list of his publications:
*''Eyes and Hands'' (in Persian: ''Cheshm-haa-o Dast-haa''): (1954)
*''Daughter of the Cup'' (in Persian: ''Dokhtar-e Jaam''): (1955)
*''The Grape Poem'' (in Persian: ''Sher-e Angoor''): (1958)
*''Collyrium of the Sun'' (in Persian: ''Sormeh-ye Khorsheed''): (1960)
*''Not Plant and Stone, but Fire'' (in Persian: ''Giaah-o Sang Nah, Aatash''): (1978)
*''From the Sublime to the Ridiculous'' (in Persian: ''Az Aasemaan taa Rissmaan''): (1978)
*''The Last Supper'' (in Persian: ''Shaam-e Baazpaseen''): (1978)
*''False Dawn'' (in Persian: ''Sobh-e Drooghin''): (1982)
*''Blood and Ash'' (in Persian: ''Khoon-o Khaakestar''): (1989)
*''Earth and Time'' (in Persian: ''Zamin-o Zaman''): (1996
publisher, Ketab corp., Los Angeles, California
*''Collected poems'' (in Persian: ''Majmooeh-ye Ash'aar'') (2003
publisher, Ketab corp., Los Angeles, California*''Selected poems on audio CD – recited by the poet'' (1998) (in Persian: ''Peyvand''
publisher, Ketab corp., Los Angeles, California
In the introduction to his tenth and last collection of poems, ''Earth and Time'', Naderpour noted that,
Poems come from “Heaven” and remain alien on “Earth”; instead of “place” they deal with “nature” and instead of “time” they deal with “history”. A poet who leaves his country and migrates to an alien land talks about his new home in terms of his original homeland. With his words he pictures the nature of his homeland, and instead of speaking of the “past” or the “future,” he links “history” with “eternity". For an exiled poet the images of his homeland will always stay alive, but the homeland’s history, as well as its present, will be (for him) “eternity”.
The poems composed by Naderpour are rich in imagery and deeply embedded in the texture of the Persian language. Naderpour was an
imagist
Imagism was a movement in early-20th-century poetry that favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. It is considered to be the first organized literary modernism, modernist literary movement in the English language. Imagism has bee ...
and a wordsmith in one, and he ultimately was a classic poet living in a modern world, in a modern style.
Naderpour also published a large number of scholarly and research papers on Iran's politics, culture, history, and literature in various print journals and magazines such as ''Iran-Shenasi'', ''Mehregan'', ''Sokhan'', and ''Rahavard'' as well as in many different online journals.
Naderpour was nominated for the
Nobel Prize in Literature
The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...
and was awarded the
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
Hellman-Hammett Grant in 1993. The grant is mostly awarded to the writers in exile whose works are banned in their own homelands.
Samples
Here are some samples of poems composed by Naderpour and translated into English by Farhad Mafie and Manouchehr
Saadat Noury:
The Winter Homily
:“O, the fire that flames from inside the night
:rises to dance,
:but turns to stone by morning
:O, the memory of the earth’s seething anger
:in the days when the sky’s rage was spreading.
:O, the sense of pride
:O, the point where epics begin and end
:O, the magnificent summit of old epics
:O, the house of Ghobad!
:O, the stony nest, the destiny of the phoenix
:O, the land of Zal the Champion’s childhood.”
::Farhad Mafie (Los Angeles, 2000).
Awareness
:“In the midst of the battle, we understood
:The words were not able and never could
:Get the job done as it really should
:And seize a very great raiding road.”
::Manouchehr Saadat Noury (Montreal, 2006).
The Persian version of the above poem by Naderpour reads as follows:
:''Maa dar miyaan-e mahlekeh daanestim''
:''Kaz vajeh kaar vijeh nemi-aayad''
:''In harbeh raa tavaan-e tahaajom nist.''
Remarks
Here are the various remarks about Naderpour and his poetry as cited by some Iranian scholars and researchers:
“In my opinion, Naderpour’s poems are lasting poems. Undoubtedly, his works will be counted among the classics in the Persian language. In the last twenty years we owe thanks to Naderpour for many expressions that have now become popular and universal, such as the sadness of exile, being cut from our own roots, disheartened by the homeland that is being traumatized. In addition, he has given life to his poems through his beautiful descriptions, and through new, effective explanations he has made apparent to us the ambiguous, complex conditions of our own hidden conscience. His poem is the poem of our sadness, our worries, our hopes, and our disappointments”:
Ehsan Yarshater
Ehsan Yarshater (; April 3, 1920 – September 1, 2018) was an Iranian historian and linguist who specialized in Iranology. He was the founder and director of the Center for Iranian Studies, and Hagop Kevorkian Professor Emeritus of Iranian Stud ...
(2001).
According to
Iraj Bashiri
Iraj Bashiri (; born July 31, 1940) is professor of history at the University of Minnesota, United States, and one of the leading scholars in the fields of Central Asian studies and Iranian studies. Fluent in English, Persian language, Persian, ...
(2008), “Naderpour supported the three principles established by
Nima. First, he believed that like natural or conversational speech, poetry must convey the meaning; the number of words as well as the simplicity or complexity of the phraseology must be dictated by the requirement of the expression of the thought being expressed. In other words, he believed that the phrases expressing single thoughts do not have to be of the same length. Secondly rhythm, Naderpour believed, need not follow an established, monotonous form. Rather, like natural speech, it should be allowed to vary depending on the requirements of the thought structure being expressed. Thirdly, rhyme must appear at the end of each completed thought pattern. Rather than forced on thought segments, Naderpour believed, rhyme must serve as a unifier; it must join complete thought segments and present them as a cohesive expression of the poet's sentiments”. His poem, "Man with Two Shadows" is a good example of this, especially regarding his use of shadow, its intransigence vis-a-vis the sun and its profoundity vis-a-vis the night:
"A Man with Two Shadows" by Nader Naderpur, translated by Iraj Bashiri:
:Standing amid a cold global sunset,
:my shadow is cast
:by the burning evening sun
:which has, in turn,
:gradually but carefully,
:pulled it away
:from beneath the feet of the mid-day sun.
:But this elongated shadow
:is not the creature that has
:accompanied me from dawn to dusk
:the creature that has led me from childhood to senility
:that shadow was born to the morning light
:this shadow is sired by the evening glow.
:One day, when suddenly,
:through the frame of my bright adolescence window
:I discovered "future,"
:golden and glowing,
:that shadow, too, was born with the light
:alongside that future
:prepared to climb to the peak
:I hurried from peak to peak
:I rode, I felt, while
:the rest of the world walked beside me.
:But the appearance of noon
:like light to which a film is exposed
:destroyed my morning dreams of "future"
:it destroyed all the shadows that graced the earth
:the shadow that had accompanied me
:(the shadow that had perished by the warmth of the sun)
:that shadow alone was revived
:and now,
:in the fleeting sunlight of my life
:standing amid the mud, it waits for the night
:its face to the "past," its back is to the "future."
“Naderpour loved to talk about what was going on in Iran as long as you could talk on the same level": Farhad Mafie (2000).
"Naderpour made it very easy and approachable for younger people who've been away from their culture. His death was the perfect definition of a tragedy": Parastoo Izad Seta (2000)
References
*
*
*
* Zarei, Rouhollah and Roger Sedarat
Nature and Nostalgia in the Poetry of Nader Naderpour Amherst: Cambria Press, 2017.
External links
Site dedicated to this poetInterview with Nader Naderpour(Voice of American Persian Service)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naderpour, Nader
Iranian male poets
University of Paris alumni
1929 births
2000 deaths
Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
20th-century Iranian poets
Pan-Iranist Party politicians
Tudeh Party of Iran members
20th-century Iranian male writers
Poets from Tehran