Ahmad Reza Ahmadi: Iran Author

I cannot kill a word for the sake of rhythm; I will kill the rhythm itself.

Ahmad Reza Ahmadi

Ahamd Reza Ahmadi is considered to be the founder of New Wave Poetry by the Iranian Artists' Center and is recognized as a pioneer of surrealism in children's literature in Iran. He was born in Kerman in southeastern Iran in 1940. When he was seven years old, his family left Kerman to settle in the city of Tehran. Ahmadi completed his high school education at the celebrated Dar al-Funun. As a teenager, he experienced major political events such as the rise of nationalism and the hope of a democratically elected government. His entrance into adulthood coincided with the rise to power of the clerical establishment in Iran led by Ayatollah Khomeini. It is safe to say that Ahmadi's poems were born, and ultimately survived and flourished, despite a climate of political turmoil.

Journey at Night is one of Ahmadi's most powerful works and is a story that touchesupon social themes, referring to peace, coexistence, tolerance, and collaboration. The fireflies are messengers of peace who bring light, knowledge, beauty, and joy. There is antagonism between darkness and light, with light ultimately overcoming darkness. By selecting elements from nature and human life, and mixing these together, the author has succeeded in creating an atmosphere full of sensory images.

Dreams and imagination are the two basic building blocks in the writing of Ahmadi's stories. Ahmadi creates clashing worlds in which there are the juxtaposition of love and hatred and alienation and loneliness, ultimately giving way to reunion and wholeness, freedom and friendship. Although his stories are deeply rooted in Iranian cultural traditions, the themes are universal and apply to a range of ages and cultures.

Ahmad Reza Ahmadi has received many awards and recognitions for his works, including the National Cultural and Artistic Award (Bizhan Jalali) for Collected Poems in 2006. Parvaz dar shab (Flight at Night) was nominated by the Children's Book Council as the best story on peace at IBBY India in 2009. In addition, Ahmadi was recently awarded The Flying Pen, a prestigious national recognition for his contribution to children's literature (2009). His writing is thought to be unique in the way he creatively combines poetic and prose structures. His poems have been translated into many different languages including Arabic, Armenian, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Korean.