SHORT INTRODUCTION TO BOZORG ALAVI

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Bozorg Alavi (1904-1997), Iranian writer, novelist and political activist

Bozorg Alavi (born Seyyed Mojtaba Alavi, 1907-1997) was an influential Iranian writer, novelist, and political intellectual. His contributions to Iranian Literature are considered profound.

Here's a detailed overview of his life, works, and impact:

  • Early Life and Education

    • Born in Tehran, Iran, as the third of six children.
    • His family had strong ties to Iranian political reform; his father, Seyyed Abol Hassan Alavi, participated in the 1906 Constitutional Revolution and later co-published the progressive newsletter Kaveh in Germany. His paternal grandfather, Seyyed Mohammad Sarraf, was a leading constitutionalist and member of the first Majles.
    • In 1922, Alavi was sent to Berlin with his older brother Mortezā for his secondary and university education. Upon returning to Iran in 1927, he taught German in Shiraz and later in Tehran.

  • Political Activities and Imprisonment

    • During his time in Iran, Alavi became active in meetings led by Dr. Erani.
    • He was one of the "famous 53 persons" jailed in 1937 under the regime of Reza Shah for alleged communist activities. Alavi himself maintained that he was not politically involved at the time, but rather part of a literary group that, among other things, read communist writings.
    • He received a 7-year sentence but was released after 4 years in 1941 due to a general amnesty following the Allied control of Iran.
    • Following his release, he published Scrap Papers of Prison and Fifty Three Persons and continued his political activities, becoming a founding member of the communist Tudeh Party of Iran and serving as editor of its publication Mardom.

  • Exile and Later Life

    • Alavi was in Germany when the 1953 Coup d'état occurred in Iran, leading to mass arrests and imprisonments.
    • He subsequently stayed in exile in East Berlin, teaching at Humboldt University, until the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty and the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
    • He briefly returned to Iran in the spring of 1979 after 25 years and was warmly received by the Iranian Writers Association. However, he returned to Iran a year later in 1980 and was dismayed by the repressive turn of the revolution, deciding to head back to Germany. He visited Iran for the last time in 1993 and died in Berlin in 1997.

  • Literary Works and Style

    • Alavi is noted for his outstanding ability in adopting European techniques of storytelling while simultaneously creating works of art that are strikingly Persian.
    • He was a very close friend of the famous Iranian writer Sadegh Hedayat, and together they formed a literary group in Paris called "sab'e group".
    • His most celebrated novel is Cheshm'hā'yash (Her Eyes), published in Iran in 1952 but subsequently banned. The novel was inspired by his first wife, Margarita (Gita) Scheineson.
    • Other notable works include:
      • Chamedan (The Suitcase) (1934), written under the influence of Freudian psychology.
      • Varaq Pareh'ha-ye Zendan (Scrap Papers from Prison) (1941).
      • 53 nafar (Fifty Three Persons) (1942), describing his experiences in prison.
      • Mirza (1944).
      • Gilemard (1946), which is used in Iranian high-school textbooks.
    • Jalal Al-i Ahmad, another prominent modern Persian writer, praised Alavi's prose, noting that "Persian (simple Persian) is capable of describing the most novel sensual expressions of a writer; that it is possible to employ this language for introspection".

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