Biography:
Reza Amirkhani is a prominent Iranian novelist, travel writer, and cultural critic who was born in Tehran in 1973. His first book was during his high school years at Allameh Helli, but his profession as a writer started several years later after graduating from Sharif University. He is mostly known for the novel “Man-e Ooh” (Persian: من او). Alongside his novels, he writes articles and commentaries on contemporary social and cultural issues in Iran.
Reza Amirkhani started writing at high school with the “ERMIA” novel. He has studied mechanical engineering at the Sharif University of Technology and is a graduate of the National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents; he also writes essays and researches about scientific & social problems. There are also Dastan-e-Sistan and Nasht-e-Nesha written by him that describe some social problems and their solutions.
Amirkhani is one of the authors who used these novice elements of writing which were merely considered in the public. He is successful in characterization and tone. Amirkhani used them in the “Az Beh” and “Qeidar” novels.
He has won many literary awards in Iran and some of his works have been bestsellers. In 2019, Amirkhani was nominated for the title of the Islamic Revolution Artist of the Year for his novel “Salvation”. However, he failed to win the title, which is granted by the Art Bureau of the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization.
Works:
- 1996:Ermia
- 2000:Naser Armani(Armenian Nasser- 11 Stories)
- 2002:Az Be (From-To)
- 2000:Man-e-oo(His Ego)
- 2003:Dastan-e-Sistan (about ten-day travel with the supreme leader of Iran)
- 2005:Nasht-e-Nesha(an article about Iranian brain drain)
- 2008:Bi Vatan(“Homelandless”)
- 2010:Sar-Lohe-Ha( His notes in Louh website)
- 2010:Nafahat -e- Naft(an essay about oil management)
- 2010:Jaanestaan-e-Kaabulistan(Afghanistan Itinerary after 2009 election in Iran)
- 2012:Gheydar(Kedar)
- 2018:Rahesh(An essay about Management and development of urban imbalance)
- 2020:Nim-Dang Pyongyang(Pyongyang travel literature)
Introducing Some Works:
The novel tells the story of Ali Fattah, a man from a well-established family in Tehran who falls in love with Mahtab, the daughter of their family maid. Due to Ali’s belief in pure love, Mahtab declines to marry him until she becomes sure about her real love for Ali. Mahtab enjoys guidelines from a dervish named Mostafa, who is a key character in her life. In the end, however, Ali and Mahtab die unattached to marry each other in the future life.
Ofoq, a major publisher based in Tehran, released the original book in 1999. This novel is one of Amirkhani’s hugely popular novels, which has been republished 38 times. It has been translated into various languages including Arabic, Russian and Turkish.
A Journey to Afghanistan (Janestan-e-Kabolestan)
In 2009, Reza Amirkhani went from Mashhad to Afghanistan, with his wife and son. He went to Afghanistan by chance, but fell in love with the land’s magical familiarity and difference, at the same time. Wandering about in neighbor’s lands provided a chance for Amirkhani to take a second look at Iran; its new adventures and the future to come. This book is one of Amirkhani’s best-selling titles. The anticipations for its release were exceptionally sensational. His wise choice of words and phrases, warm prose on one hand, and witty look over the similarities and differences between Iran and Afghanistan, on the other, have turned this title into a bestseller. Amirkhani always tries to keep a neutral position, and this is why his audience, who come from different backgrounds of society, trusts him.
A Half of One-Sixth of Pyongyang
Amirkhani visited the North Korean capital of Pyongyang for nine days during June 2018 as a documentarian.
North Korea remains a country about which not much is known to the rest of the world. Most news and information on the country come either from the country’s state media or from accounts penned by defectors who have taken refuge in South Korea, China, or the West. Most recently, however, Reza Amirkhani, a prominent Iranian novelist, travel writer, and cultural critic, has published his North Korea travelogue, the title of which can be rendered as “A Half of One-Sixth of Pyongyang”. The narrative, according to the author’s classification of his works, falls into the category of “those times/places that I have seen but my audience hasn’t”
Amirkhani’s travelogue is the product of two trips he took to the country where the Workers’ Party of Korea seems to control and dominate almost every aspect of North Koreans’ lives and the country’s present and past Supreme Leaders are considered nothing short of demigods by the public, or at least that is what the State wants the rest of the world to believe.
“Salvation” (“Rahesh”)
“Re He Sheen” is about the consequences of urban development for a young couple that lives in Tehran. Re he sheen are the Persian characters making the word “Shahr” (city) in Persian, which have been arranged in reverse order.
The ceremony was warmly received by book readers and fans, who stood in a long line to get into the bookstore to buy copies of the book autographed by the author.
“Those who are here might think this book is the outcome of efforts by the writer, but I must say that many have tried to publish the book and I want to express my thanks to the publisher,” Amirkhani said in his short speech at the ceremony.