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Amir Hasan Cheheltan (Persian امیر حسن چهلتن) Iranian novelist and essayist and member of the Writers’ Association of Iran. His novel “The Circle of Literature Lovers” won the 2020 International Literature Award from the House of the World’s Cultures in Berlin. German publications have called him the “Balzac of Iran.” Since 2005 his novels have been forbidden to be published in Iran; however, they have been translated into various languages and published in a number of other countries.

Biography

Amir Hasan Cheheltan was born in Tehran on October 1, 1956. While studying mathematics in high school, he also composed poetry and wrote stories. At eighteen he entered university to continue his studies of electrical engineering and while at university published two collections of stories. In 1976 he published a collection of stories called “Temporary Wife” (Sigheh), and in 1978 he brought out the collection “Relic-cloth on the Shrine’s Steel Grillwork” (Dakhil bar Panjereh-ye Fulad). After obtaining a BS in electrical engineering in 1978, he went to England to continue his studies of electrical engineering. After returning to Iran, from 2002 to 2004 he served as an officer at the Iran-Iraq War front. Owing to his service at the front, Cheheltan wrote military-themed stories. “Munes, Mother of Esfandiar” (Munes, Mader-e Esfandiyar” and “Cut, Forbidden Area” (Kat, Manteqeh-ye Mamnu’ah) are among those works.

The publication of Cheheltan’s works continued to face the barrier of censorship, and most were saddled with delays. His novel “Qasem’s Requien” (Rowzeh-ye Qasem), which was readied for publication in 1983, has been waiting some twenty years for permission to leave the publisher. In 1990 the novel “Hall of Mirrors” (Talar-e Ayeneh) and in 1992 the collection of tales “No one Called me Anymore” (Digar Kasi Seda-yam nazad) were published; but there opposition to their being reprinted. The publication of the novel “Mandragora” (Mehr-e Giyah) and the collection of stories “Not long Before Tomorrow” (Chizi beh Farda Namandeh ast) was likewise delayed several years until 1998 when they finally received permission to be published.

In the fall of 1998 and in the wake of the “Serial Murders of Intellectuals,” Cheheltan, at the invitation of the International Writers’ Parliament, went to Italy along with his wife and his son. On his return to Iran, Cheheltan’s novels “Tehran, City without Sky” (Tehran, Shahr-e bi Aseman) and “Love and the Incomplete Lady” (‘Eshq-o Banu-ye Natamam) were published. These were followed by the collection of stories “Five O’clock is too Late to Die” (Sa’at-e Panj bara-ye Mordan Dir ast), the film based on “Cut, Forbidden Area,” and the novel “Iranian Sunrise” (Sepideh dam-e Irani). In the fall of 2001 Cheheltan was elected to the board of the Writers’ Association of Iran.

“Iranian Sunrise” was nominated for the prize of Book of the Year in the 24th year the prize was awarded, but objections from the Ministry of Guidance caused the nomination to be withdrawn. In a letter to the Ministry of Guidance, he wrote: "So long as not even one book has been given a publication license or the right to be published, I don’t consider myself morally permitted to participate in this competition; therefore I would appreciate it if you would kindly excuse me from this nomination."

During the years 2009-20011, Amir Hasan Cheheltan, making use of a stipend from two cultural foundations, lived in Germany. Beginning in the spring of 2011, he was invited by the University of Southern California to reside in Los Angeles as a guest writer for nine months.

Cheheltan’s last book published in Iran was the collection of stories called “Several Unbelievable Realities” (Chand Vaqe’iyyat-e Bavar-nakardani).

In 2020 Cheheltan at the invitation of Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German president, went to Germany and met with him.

Just three months after its publication in June 2020, his novel “The Circle of Literature Lovers” (Mahfel-e ‘Asheqan-e Adab) won the International Literature Prize in 2020, an award given by the Stiftung Elementarteilchen and the House of World Cultures in Berlin.

Among the basic features of Cheheltan’s works, one can point to his attempt to ground his narratives in history, especially contemporary history, to show the effect of historical events on the private and emotional lives of the characters, and to explore the important role of women in the narrative structure.

The Bus to Armenia Affair Main Article: Majara-ye Otubus-e Armenestan Cheheltan was involved in the incident known as “The Bus to Armenia Affair.” In 1996 as part of the Serial Murders, he was on the list of cultural figures, who were to be killed by the Islamic Republic government while they were passengers on a bus going to Erevan, Armenia. In Cheheltan’s name was also mentioned in Vice Minister of Information Sa’id Imami’s secret letter the newspaper Salam published (5 July 2008), as one of four writers who caused security problems. He continues to be the target of attacks in the right-wing press in Iran.

Translations of Cheheltan’s Works.

To date Cheheltan’s novels have been translated into English, German, Italian, Norwegian, Lithuanian, Arabic, and Hebrew. His short stories have been translated into many of the world’s living languages.

Tehran, Revolution Street. In Tehran, Revolution Street, Fattah is a middle-aged man privately operating an underground hymenoplasty clinic. Shahrzad is a young girl with whom Fattah falls in love after she is trapped at the clinic. Shahrzad’s suitor, a steadfast young man working at the terrorist central (Evin Prison), leads his beloved to disaster. Both men enjoy the backing of the center of power. Stefan Weidner, a Middle East researcher, considers this novel a work of world literature( Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 12 Oct. 2011)

Tehran, Apocalypse (Tehran Akhar al-Zaman, first published as “American Killing in Tehran) is the last volume in the Tehran Trilogy. It is a story in six episodes about three generations of an Iranian family that gambles for their ideals with their lives. The critic Ingo Arndt has written, “The novel shows Tehran as one of the world’s mega-cities in which’our future will be decided and with which, the author presents a kind of psychological portrait of his homeland.” (Ingo Arndt, T.A.Z., 12 Oct. 2011)

The novel “The Calligrapher of Esfahan” (Khush-nevis-e Esfahan) deals with the eight-month siege of the glorious Safavid capital by the Afghans. It was a period when it was ordained that drinking, listening to music, dancing, and freedom were prohibited for people. A famine caused by the siege forced the inhabitants to eat the roots of trees and the flesh of animals like donkeys, cats, and dogs. This eventually led to the eating of human flesh and, ultimately, to the disastrous fall of the Safavids. The critic Weidner believes that Cheheltan’s “The Calligrapher of Esfahan,” rather than solely a historical novel, is an “experiential arrangement” about the morality and culture in a time of crisis. The work must not be compared with such works in the genre as “Doctor Zhivago” (Tabib) and “In the Name of the Rose” (Beh Nam-e Gol-e Sorkh). “The Calligrapher of Esfahan” is more ambitious than they are…a remarkable novel as horrifying as a nightmare.” (Susan Vahabzadeh, Suddeutsche Zeitung, 14 Jan.2019)

“The Persistent Parrot” (Tuti-ye Semej), which the western press has called docu-fiction, deals with the events surrounding the 1979 Revolution. According to Susan Vahabzadeh, the novel “views the Islamic Revolution from below, illuminating the transition phases at the beginning and end and, like all of Cheheltan's works, combines detailed factual research interwoven with imaginative flights.” (Susan Vahabzadeh, Suddeutsche Zeitung, 14 Jan.2019)

“The Circle of Literature Lovers” (Mahfel-e ‘Asheqān-e Adabiyyat) a boy’s account of weekly book-reading sessions held in his father’s home. These are meetings of old friends in which works of classical literature are read. They continued until the fall of 1998 and the Serial Murders and, with the death of the father, stop for good. The power of love and life is so overwhelming in this literature that, contrary to the official view which only emphasizes its scholarly and grim aspects, it satirizes the death and silence reigning over what is outside of the home. In “The Circle of Literature Lovers,” a ground-breaking picture of this literature is presented, which is older, wiser, more comic than official morality and social norms can tolerate.” Mathias Schnitzler considers this work one of the basic novels of the 21st century.( Berliner Zeitung, 19 April 2020)

Bibliography

Novels Rowzeh-ye Qasem). Tehran: Nashr-e Now, 1362/1983; this novel was translated into Arabic and published with the title “Tehran, Dark Light.” Talar-e Ayeneh. Tehran: Beh Negar, 1369/1990. Mehr-e Giyah. Tehran: Rowshangaran va Motale’at-e Zanan, 1377/1998. ISBN 964-5512-91-3 Eshq-o Banu-ye Natamam. Tehran: Negah, 1381/2002. ISBN 964-6736-58-0 Sepideh dam-e Irani. Tehran: Negah, 1384/2005. ISBN 964-351260-6 (This novel was also published in 2015 in German) Khush-nevis-e Esfahan. Banned in Iran, it was published in German, and afterward lithographed. Tuti-ye Semej. Banned in Iran, published in 2018 in German. Mahfel-e ‘Asheqan-e Adab. Banned in Iran, published in 2018 in German.

The Tehran Trilogy Tehran, Shahr-e bi Aseman. Tehran: Negah, 1380/2001. (To date this novel has been translated and published in German, Arabic and Hebrew.) Tehran, Khiyaban-e Enqilab. Banned in Iran, this novel has been translated and published in German, English, Italian, Norwegian and Hebrew.) Tehran, Akhar al-Zaman: Romani dar bara-ye Nefrat dar panj Episud. (Banned in Iran, this novel was published in German. It was first titled “Amrikayi-koshi dar Tehran,” but after considerable revisions was published under the new title.”

Short Story Collections Sigheh. Tehran, 1355/1976. Dakhil bar Panjereh-ye Fulad. Tehran: Ravaq, 1357/1978. Digar Kasi Seda-yam Nazad. Tehran: Juya, 1371/1992. Chizi beh Farda Namandeh ast. Tehran: Negah, 1381/2002. ISBN 964-6174-64-7. Sa’at-e Panj bara-ye Mordan Dir ast. Tehran: Negah, 1382/2003. ISBN 964-351-114-6 Chand Vaqe’iyyat-e Bavar-nakardani. Tehran: Negah, 1393/2014. ISBN 978-964-351-8

Other Works Ma niz Mardomi hastim (Goftagu ba Mahmud Dowlatabadi). Tehran: Nashr-e Parsi, 1367/1988. Kat, Manteqeh-ye Mamnu’ah. (Felm-Dastan). Tehran: Negah, 1383/2004. ISBN 964-351-185-5. Mahmud Dowlatabadi: Jahan Aghaz mishavad. Tehran: Qessah, 1383/2004. ISBN 964-5776-39-2 (This work was published in 1396/2017 by Negah.) Tehran Kiusk (Majmu’ah-ye Maqalat). Banned in Iran. Published in German in 2016.