Shahrnush Parsipur
Encyclopedia
Shahrnush Parsipur is an Iran
ian novelist. She is the daughter of an attorney in the Iranian Justice Ministry originally from Shiraz.
from 1976 to 1980. Her first book was Tupak-e Qermez (The Little Red Ball – 1969), a story for young people. Her first short stories were published in the late 1960s. One early story appeared in Jong-e Isfahan, no. 9 (June 1972), a special short-story issue which also featured stories by Esma'il Faish, Houshang Golshiri
, Taqi Modarresi, Bahram Sadeqi, and Gholam Hossein Saedi. Her novella Tajrobeh'ha-ye Azad (Trial Offers – 1970) was followed by the novel Sag va Zemestan-e Boland (The Dog and the Long Winter), published in 1976. In 1977, she published a volume of short stories called Avizeh'ha-ye Bolur (Crystal Pendant Earrings).
As of the late 1980s, Parsipur received considerable attention in Tehran literary circles, with the publication of several of her stories and several notices and a lengthy interview with her in Donya-ye Sokhan magazine. Her second novel was Touba va ma'na-ye Shab (Touba and the Meaning of Night – 1989), which Parsipur wrote after spending four years and seven months in prison. Right before her incarceration. In 1990, she published a short novel, again consisting of connected stories, called Zanan Bedun-e Mardan (Women without Men), which Parsipur had finished in the late 1970s. The first chapter appeared in Alefba
, no. 5 (1974). The Iranian government banned Women without Men in the mid-1990s and put pressure on the author to desist from such writing. Early in 1990, Parsipur finished her fourth novel, a 450-page story of a female Don Quixote called Aql-e abi'rang (Blue-colored Reason), which remained unavailable as of early 1992.
In 1994 she went to the United State and wrote Prison Memoire, a 450 pages of her memoire of four different times that she was in different prisons. In 1996 she wrote her fifth novel Shiva, a science fiction in 900 pages. In 1999 she published her sixth novel, Maajerahaaye Saadeh Va Kuchake Ruhe Deraxat (The Plain and Small Adventures of the Spirit of the Tree), in 300 pages. In 2002, she published her seventh novel, Bar Baale Baad Neshastan (On the wings of Wind), in 700 pages.
Shahrnush Parsipur has since left Iran and currently resides in the United States
. She is the recipient of the first International Writers Project Fellowship from the Program in Creative Writing and the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University
.
From 2006 She makes different programs for Radio Zamaneh, situated in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
The book is also is translated into German, Swedish and Italian.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian novelist. She is the daughter of an attorney in the Iranian Justice Ministry originally from Shiraz.
Biography
Born and raised in Tehran, she received her B.A. in sociology from Tehran University in 1973 and studied Chinese language and civilization at the SorbonneSorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
from 1976 to 1980. Her first book was Tupak-e Qermez (The Little Red Ball – 1969), a story for young people. Her first short stories were published in the late 1960s. One early story appeared in Jong-e Isfahan, no. 9 (June 1972), a special short-story issue which also featured stories by Esma'il Faish, Houshang Golshiri
Houshang Golshiri
Houshang Golshiri was an Iranian fiction writer, critic and editor. He was one of the first Iranian writers to use modern literary techniques, and is recognized as one of the most influential writers of Persian prose of the twentieth century.-Early life:...
, Taqi Modarresi, Bahram Sadeqi, and Gholam Hossein Saedi. Her novella Tajrobeh'ha-ye Azad (Trial Offers – 1970) was followed by the novel Sag va Zemestan-e Boland (The Dog and the Long Winter), published in 1976. In 1977, she published a volume of short stories called Avizeh'ha-ye Bolur (Crystal Pendant Earrings).
As of the late 1980s, Parsipur received considerable attention in Tehran literary circles, with the publication of several of her stories and several notices and a lengthy interview with her in Donya-ye Sokhan magazine. Her second novel was Touba va ma'na-ye Shab (Touba and the Meaning of Night – 1989), which Parsipur wrote after spending four years and seven months in prison. Right before her incarceration. In 1990, she published a short novel, again consisting of connected stories, called Zanan Bedun-e Mardan (Women without Men), which Parsipur had finished in the late 1970s. The first chapter appeared in Alefba
Alefba
Alefba is a Persian-language literary magazine with two periods of publication, one in Iran before the 1979 revolution and another thereafter in France. Gholamhoseyn Sa’edi was the editor of both versions...
, no. 5 (1974). The Iranian government banned Women without Men in the mid-1990s and put pressure on the author to desist from such writing. Early in 1990, Parsipur finished her fourth novel, a 450-page story of a female Don Quixote called Aql-e abi'rang (Blue-colored Reason), which remained unavailable as of early 1992.
In 1994 she went to the United State and wrote Prison Memoire, a 450 pages of her memoire of four different times that she was in different prisons. In 1996 she wrote her fifth novel Shiva, a science fiction in 900 pages. In 1999 she published her sixth novel, Maajerahaaye Saadeh Va Kuchake Ruhe Deraxat (The Plain and Small Adventures of the Spirit of the Tree), in 300 pages. In 2002, she published her seventh novel, Bar Baale Baad Neshastan (On the wings of Wind), in 700 pages.
Shahrnush Parsipur has since left Iran and currently resides in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. She is the recipient of the first International Writers Project Fellowship from the Program in Creative Writing and the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
.
From 2006 She makes different programs for Radio Zamaneh, situated in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Personal life
She was married for seven years to Iranian film director Nasser Taghvai, but they later divorced. They have one son together.Translation of her works
- In India, her novel Women without Men (Zanan Bedun-e Mardan in PersianPersian languagePersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
; translated as Aanungal Illatha Pennungal) was translated into Malayalam by S.A. Qudsi and published by Mathrubhumi Books, Calicut, 2005. The book have also a French (translated as Femmes sans hommes) and Spanish translation. - In the USA, her novel Tuba and the Meaning of Night (Tuba va Ma'naye Shab in PersianPersian languagePersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
; translated as Touba and the Meaning of Night) was translated into EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by Kamran Talattof, 2005.
The book is also is translated into German, Swedish and Italian.
External links
- Shahrnush Parsipur Official Website
- Feature writer: Shahrnush Parsipur, a series of articles concerning Shahrnush Parsipur written between December 1996 and July 2007, The Iranian, http://www.iranian.com/parsipur.html.
- Marzieh Vafamehr, Crossed Out: Mohsen Namjoo, Shahrnush Parsipour, Nasser Taghvai, in Persian with English subtitles, July 9, 2008, Google Video (22 min 40 sec).