Salar Abdoh
Encyclopedia
Salar Abdoh is an Iranian American writer and teacher of creative writing at The City College of New York.
. When Abdoh was fourteen his family was forced to flee Iran and arrived in the U.S. His father died shortly after the family’s arrival in the States, leaving his children homeless in Los Angeles
. After traveling the country, Abdoh eventually earned an undergraduate degree from U.C. Berkeley and received a Master’s from The City College of New York.
. His second novel, Opium (2004) tells the story of a young American who used to work as a drug-runner along the Afghan/Iran border, living in New York and trying to keep a low profile when his past suddenly catches up with him. Abdoh has published short stories and essays in numerous journals; in 2010 he edited Callaloo Journal's issue of Middle East and North Africa writers. For his prose he won the New York Foundation for the Arts award in 2008 and the National Endowment for the Arts award in 2010.
Abdoh also co-wrote the play Quotations from a Ruined City with his older brother, Reza Abdoh
. It was first produced in 1994.
Biography
Salar Abdoh was born in Iran and spent two years of his early childhood in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. When Abdoh was fourteen his family was forced to flee Iran and arrived in the U.S. His father died shortly after the family’s arrival in the States, leaving his children homeless in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. After traveling the country, Abdoh eventually earned an undergraduate degree from U.C. Berkeley and received a Master’s from The City College of New York.
Works
Abdoh’s first novel, The Poet Game, focuses on a young agent sent by a top-secret Iranian government agency to infiltrate a group of Islamic extremists in New York. Though the book was published in 1999, it received greater attention following the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade CenterSeptember 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. His second novel, Opium (2004) tells the story of a young American who used to work as a drug-runner along the Afghan/Iran border, living in New York and trying to keep a low profile when his past suddenly catches up with him. Abdoh has published short stories and essays in numerous journals; in 2010 he edited Callaloo Journal's issue of Middle East and North Africa writers. For his prose he won the New York Foundation for the Arts award in 2008 and the National Endowment for the Arts award in 2010.
Abdoh also co-wrote the play Quotations from a Ruined City with his older brother, Reza Abdoh
Reza Abdoh
Reza Abdoh Iranian-born American director and playwright known for large-scale, experimental theatrical productions, often staged in unusual spaces like warehouses and abandoned buildings....
. It was first produced in 1994.
External links
- Faber & Faber author page
- Interview
- Excerpt from The Poet Game
- Essay on September 11
- Three part series of articles on Iran:
- NEA Writer's Corner Writer's Statement