Saeed Nafisi (also Naficy) (; June 8, 1895 – November 13, 1966) was an Iranian scholar, fiction writer and poet. He was a prolific writer in Persian.
Nafisi was 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. ...
, where he conducted numerous research projects on Iranian culture, literature and poetry. He first emerged as a serious thinker when he joined
Mohammad-Taqi Bahar,
Abbas Eqbal Ashtiani,
Gholamreza Rashid-Yasemi and
Abdolhossein Teymourtash
Abdolhossein Teymourtash (; 25 September 1883 – 3 October 1933) was an influential Iranian statesman who served as the first minister of court of the Pahlavi dynasty from 1925 to 1932, and is credited with playing a crucial role in laying the ...
to found one of the first literary magazines to be published in Iran, called
Daneshkade, in 1918. He subsequently published many articles on Iran, Persian literary texts and
Sufism
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
and his works have been translated into more than 20 languages worldwide. He died in a Russian hospital 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. ...
.
Saeed Nafisi's relatives include Moadeb Naficy, the guardian and doctor of the Shah of Iran (
Reza Pahlavi); and Moadeb's son
Habib Nafisi (Naficy), a senior statesman, founder of Iran's labor laws, U.S.-Iran Attache, and founder of multiple technical universities in Tehran,
Hamid Naficy, a noted scholar of Media and Cultural Studies, Siamak Naficy, an anthropologist, as well as acclaimed author,
Azar Nafisi
Azar Nafisi (; born 1948)Following eighth grade, Nafisi's parents sent her to England for schooling from 1961 to 1963. Nafisi 2010, chapter 8, pp. 69-70; chapter 13, p. 115 is an Iranian-American writer and professor of English literature. Born in ...
, a niece of his.
Nafisi taught in
Tehran University
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 ...
,
Kabul University
Kabul University (KU; ) is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd District of the capital Kabul near the Ministry of Higher Education. It was founded in 1931 by King Mohammed Nadir Shah, wh ...
,
Cairo University
Cairo University () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...
and
San José State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State Universit ...
.
Life
The son of
Ali Akbar Nazem al-Atebba, who was a famous physician, Nafisi was born in 1895 in Tehran. He started his early education in a school founded by his own father, and finished high school in the Eliye school, the only high school at that time. Next, at the age of 15, he went to Switzerland and continued his education in the university of Paris. After his return to Iran, he started teaching French and working in the Ministry of Welfare. Later he also worked alongside Malek-o Shoara
Bahar in a magazine.
Later, as well as teaching French in high schools, he taught in other schools, such as political and economic schools, and he also taught in the Literature faculty and Law faculty of Tehran University since its foundation. He also taught outside Iran, in Beirut, Cairo, etc.
He was a member of the Academy of Iran (Farhangestan-e Iran).
Personality
He was greatly fond of books, and he spent almost all his money on books, even depriving himself of some his other needs. He thought that books should be published and be available to people, so that people can read and learn. He used collect everything that had a connection to books and literature. In his last years, he collected Russian books about Iran.
It is said he had a hard temper, but that he had a kind heart, and he would calm down quickly. He would write honestly which would sometimes disturb others.
See also
*
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 ...
*
Iranian Studies
Iranian studies ( '), also referred to as Iranology and Iranistics, is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the research and study of the civilization, history, literature, art and culture of Iranian peoples. It is a part of the wider field ...
External links
The Mystic Poetry of the Sufis- (excerpt from Nafisi, S., ''The Aryan Path'', June 1950) republished in ''Theosophy World'' June 2004.
Iranian literary scholars
20th-century Persian-language writers
Writers from Tehran
1895 births
1966 deaths
20th-century Iranian writers
Members of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature
Iranian male short story writers
Scholars of Persian literature
{{Iran-academic-bio-stub