Nader Naderpour

Though Nima Yooshij (1896–1960) is known as the Father of New Persian Poetry, aka Nimaii Poetry or She'r-e Nimaii, according to a number of eminent and highly respected literary and poetry scholars Nader Naderpour is considered as the first Iranian poet who opened up exciting vistas of the new Persian poetry.

Nader Naderpour (June 6, 1929 – February 18, 2000) was an Iranian poet.

Among many Iranian poets who shaped up the New Persian Poetry or New Poetry (in Persian: She'r-e Now), Ali Esfandiari aka Nima Yooshij, Parviz Natel Khanlari, Nader Naderpour, Forough Farrokhzad, Mehdi Akhavan Saless, Sohrab Sepehri, Fereydoon Moshiri, Siavash Kasrai, Ahmad Shamlu, Hushang Ebtehaj, and Mohammad-Reza Shafiei Kadkani are considered to be the most famous, skillful, and professional.

Nader Naderpour was born on 6 June 1929 in Tehran, Iran.

His parents were both fluent in French and had a deep love for art, music and history.

His father, Taghi Mirza, was a descendant of Reza Gholi Mirza, the eldest son of Nader Shah.

The eldest of two brothers and three sisters, Naderpour grew up under the supervision and care of his culturally rich parents.

His father, who died when Naderpour was only fourteen, was a skillful painter and also a man familiar with poetry and literature.

It was he who taught young Naderpour Persian literature and classic poetry.

When he was a preschooler, Naderpour would sit on his father's lap and be encouraged to read the newspaper every night.

His father also had Naderpour memorize classical and modern poetry.

His mother was a talented player of the string instrument the tar, and she helped Naderpour to develop an appreciation for music.

In 1942 during World War II, Naderpour entered Iran-Shahr High School in Tehran.

A year later when Iran was occupied by the Allied military forces, Naderpour, like many other students of the time, got involved in politics, and he participated in a small nationalist party group.

Later he joined the Tudeh Party of Iran (TPI), which became the major Communist Party of the country.

Like Nima, Naderpour also published a number of poems in journals such as People (in Persian: Mardom), Leader (in Persian: Rahbar), and Our Iran (in Persian: Iran-e Maa), which were all supported by TPI at the time.

In fact, since 1946 Naderpour had been unhappy about the Iran-Azerbaijan crisis, and like many other nationalist students, he was convinced that Soviet communism could not make any provision for the independent nationalist communist movements in other countries.

Subsequently, Naderpour worked wholeheartedly to ensure that Iran's parliamentary elections would be open, honest, and fair.

He therefore became sympathetic to the National Front (in Persian: Jebheh-ye Melli) and its leader, Mohammad Mosaddegh, and other nationalist champions in those elections.

By the time Naderpour graduated from high school in 1948, he had already left the Party.

In 1950 Naderpour was sent to Paris, France, to continue his education in French Language and Literature at the Sorbonne University.

During his stay in Paris, he not only became a freelance writer for various publications but he also wrote for the Third Force Party (in Persian: Nirooy-e Sevvom), which Iranian ideologue and writer Khalil Maleki had established under the aegis of the National Front in Iran.

After receiving his BA degree, Naderpour returned to Tehran and started working in the private sector.

In 1960 Naderpour arranged the first modernist Persian poetry reading in Tehran, held at the Cultural Society of Iran & America (in Persian: Anjoman-e Farhangi-e Iran-o Amrika).

Later, he worked as a consultant at the Office of Dramatic Arts of the Ministry of Arts and Culture (in Persian: Vezaarat-e Farhang-o Honar).

He was also appointed as the Editor of Theater Magazine (in Persian: Majaleh-ye Namayesh), and as the Editor-in-Chief of the Monthly Journal of Art and People (in Persian: Honar-o Mardom).

In 1964 Naderpour traveled to Europe.

In Rome, he continued his studies on the Italian Language and Literature.

He also spent some time in Paris, studying French cinema, and devoting time to his own poetry.

In 1968, Naderpour became one of the thirty or so founding members of the first Association of Writers of Iran (in Persian: Kaanoon-e Nevisandegaan-e Iran).

He was also one of the signatories of its manifesto, along with several other famous Iranian writers and poets.

When Jalal Al-e-Ahmad, the driving force behind the Association, died in 1969, the Association chose Naderpour to speak on its behalf at the interment ceremony.

For two consecutive years Naderpour was elected as a member of the steering committee for the Association of Writers of Iran.

In 1971, Naderpour took over as the director of Contemporary Literature Department (in Persian: Gorooh-e Adab-e Emrooz) in the National Iranian Radio and Television, where he directed many programs on the life and works of contemporary literary figures.

Later on, in 1977, he decided not to participate in the rejuvenation of the Association due to differences of opinion.

Naderpour fled the Iranian Revolution in 1980 for France and resided there until 1987.

He was elected to France's Authors' Association, and participated in several conferences and gatherings.

In 1987, he moved to California.

During his residence in the United States, Naderpour gave several speeches and lectures at Harvard University, Georgetown University, UCLA, and UC Berkeley.

Naderpour was considered as the first Iranian poet who opened up exciting vistas of the new Persian poetry, and he was regarded as one of the leaders of the movement for the New Poetry or She'r-e Now in Iran and among other Persian speaking nations like Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan.