Mahmoud Hosseini Zad (; born 8 April 1946) is an Iranian translator of the contemporary

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy ...

. He is also writer, interpreter, literature jury member and

docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

. In the early 70s, Hosseini Zad graduated from the

university of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. Then he came back to Iran and began to work as a translator for the

Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB; ) or Seda va Sima () for short, formerly called National Iranian Radio and Television until the Iranian revolution of 1979, is an Iranian state-controlled media corporation that holds a monopo ...

, IRIB, and also began to teach German language in the

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 ...

Azad University The Islamic Azad University (IAU; , ''Dāneshgāh-e Āzād-e Eslāmi'') is a private university system headquartered in Tehran, Iran. It is one of the largest comprehensive systems of universities in the world. History Headquartered in Tehran, I ...

Tarbiat Modares University Tarbiat Modares University (: ''Dāneshgāh-e Tarbiyat Modarres'', lit. "Professor Training University") is a graduate public university located in Tehran, Iran. Faculties Tarbiat Modares University (TMU) was established in 1982 and is a comp ...

and language institutes 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. ...

. At the same time he published two collections of short stories. He has translated the works of

Bertholt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant- ...

, Judith Hermann,

Ingo Schulze Ingo Schulze (born 15 December 1962) is a German writer born in Dresden in former East Germany. He studied classical philology at the University of Jena for five years, and, until German reunification, was an assistant director (dramatic arts a ...

Uwe Timm Uwe Timm (; born 30 March 1940 in Hamburg) is a German writer. Life and work Uwe Timm was born in 1940 in Bad Kreuznach, and was the youngest son in his family. His brother, 16 years his senior, was a soldier in the and died in Ukraine in 1943 ...

Peter Stamm Peter Stamm (born 18 January 1963 in Münsterlingen) is a Swiss writer. His prize-winning books have been translated into more than thirty languages. For his entire body of work and his accomplishments in fiction, he was nominated for the Inte ...

Julia Franck Julia Franck (born 1970, in East Berlin) is a German writer. Life Julia Franck, a twin, is the daughter of the actress Anna Katharina Franck and of the television producer Jürgen Sehmisch. In 1978 the family moved to West Berlin where they sp ...

. He also wrote some plays, for which he was awarded.

Invitation by the Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel

In April 2015, the Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel organized a reading and a discussion circle with Mahmoud Hosseini Zad as part of the Printemps culturel. He spoke about the Dürrenmatt's popularity in Iran, his own activities as a translator and he read from his translations. He said about the Dürrenmatt's works in an interview with

Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen ("Swiss Radio and Television"), shortened to SRF, is a subsidiary of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), operating in German-speaking Switzerland. SRF was created on 1 January 2011 through the merger of r ...

: Hosseini Zad said about the

censorship in Iran In Iran, censorship was ranked among the world's most extreme in 2024. Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 176 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index, which ranks countries based on the level of freedom of the press. Reporters Wi ...

: In an interview with Deutschlandfunk Kultur, he said about some sort of censorship lifting in the Rouhani's era: – Mahmoud Hosseini Zad: Deutschlandfunk Kultur He said about the cultural policy changes after

Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian principlist and nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. ...

Translations

* Genet, Jean: ''Les Nègres'', Play, translation: ''Siabarzangiha'', Tehran, 2017 * Hermann, Judith: ''Aller Liebe Anfang'', Novel, translation: ''Avval-e Asheghi'', Tehran, 2015 * Wustmann, Gerrit: ''Grüngewandt'', poems in two languages, translation: ''Sabzpush'', Bremen, 2014 * Widmer, Urs: ''Herr Adamson'', translation: ''Agha ye Adamson'', 2014 *Schulze, Ingo: ''Handy'', translation: ''Mobile'', 2014 *Hermann, Judith; Özdamar, Emine Sevgi; Schlink, Bernhard; Schulze, Ingo; Stamm, Peter: short stories from various works, translation: ''Asseman-e khis'' (The Wet Sky), Tehran, 2012 *Hermann, Judith: ''Alice'', translation: ''Alice'', Tehran, 2009 * Krösinger, Hans Werner: ''Coming Home'', translation: ''Bazgasht be vatan'', Tehran, 2009 * Stamm, Peter: ''Agnes'', translation: ''Agnes'', Tehran, 2009 *Dürrenmatt, Friedrich: ''Das Versprechen'', translation: ''Ghol'', Tehran, 2008 *Timm, Uwe: ''Am Beispiel meines Bruders'', translation: ''Massalan baradaram'', Tehran, 2008 *Hermann, Judith, short stories from: ''Sommerhaus später'' and ''Nichts als Gespenster'', translation: ''In souy-e roudkhane'' ''Oder'' (This Side of the Oder), Tehran, 2007 *Dürrenmatt, Friedrich: ''Der Richter und sein Henker'', translation: ''Ghazi o jalladash'', Tehran, 1991, revised edition 2006 *Dürrenmatt, Friedrich: ''Der Verdacht'', translation: ''Sou-e zan'', Tehran, 2006 * Berg, Sibylle; Franck, Julia; Hermann, Judith; Schulze, Ingo: short stories from various works by the writers, translation: ''Gozaran e rouz'' (Spending the Day), Tehran, 2005 * Böll, Heinrich; Handke, Peter; Kafka, Franz; Kant, Hermann; Mann, Thomas; Meckel, Christoph et al., short stories, translation: ''Maghbaredar o marg'' (Der Tod und der Gruftwächter), Tehran, 2005 *Lange, Hartmut: Italienische Novellen, translation: Hemayat az hitsh, Tehran, 2005 * Ostermaier, Albert: ''Erreger'', translation: ''Virus'', Tehran, 2005 *Brecht, Bertolt: ''Baal'', translation: ''Baal'', Tehran, 2001 *Brecht, Bertolt: ''Im Dickicht der Städte'', translation: ''Dar jangal-e shahr'', Tehran, 2001 *Brecht, Bertolt: ''Trommeln in der Nacht'', translation: ''Seday-e tabl dar shab'', Tehran, 2001 *Brecht, Bertolt: ''Einakter'', translation: ''Tak pardei ha'', Tehran, 1979 * Gorky, Maxim: ''Über Kinderliteratur. Aufsätze und Äußerungen'', translation: ''Darbare-ye Adabiyat-e Kudakan'', Tehran, 1978

Own works

*''Bist zakhm e kari'' (Twenty Mortal Wounds) - novel, Tehran, 2017 *''Sarash ra gozasht ruy-e Felez-e sard – az koshtan o raftan'' (He Put His Head on the Cold Metal – From Killing and Abandoning) – short stories, Tehran, 2015 *''Asseman, kipp-e abr'' (The Sky, Full of Clouds) – short stories, Tehran, 2013 *''In barf key amade...'' (When Did This Snow Fall...?) – short stories, Tehran, 2011 *''Siahi-ye chasbnak-e shab'' (The Leaden Darkness of Night) – short stories, Tehran, 2005 *''Tagarg amad emsal bar san-e marg'' (This Year the Hail Came Like Death) – play, Tehran, 1997 *''Nehade sar gharibane be divar'' (Like a Stranger She Leans Her Head on the Wall) – play, Tehran, 1996

Awards

* 2013: On 28 August, Hosseini Zad received the

Goethe Medal The Goethe Medal, also known as the Goethe-Medaille, is a yearly prize given by the Goethe-Institut honoring non-Germans "who have performed outstanding service for the German language and for international cultural relations". It is an offici ...

for his services and commitment as a cultural mediator par excellence in literature, theater and film. * 2013: In a survey among the Iranian authors und critics by the Iranian cultural magazine Tajrobeh, ''The Sky, Full of Clouds'' was chosen as the best book of the year – in the category of story. * 2012: In a survey among the Iranian authors und critics by the Iranian cultural magazine Tajrobeh, ''The Wet Sky'' was chosen as the best book of the year – in the category of translated stories. * 2012: The short stories ''When Did This Snow Fall ...?'' was awarded the Haft Eghlim literature prize. * 2010: The translation of Judith Hermanns book ''Alice'' was awarded the literature prize ''Es war einmal'' as the best translation of the year.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hosseini Zad, Mahmoud Iranian translators Living people 1946 births