Simin Daneshvar

Simin Daneshvar was one of translators and authors who worked after constitution and started her work professionally in writing fiction as the first Iranian woman. Her husband was Jalal Al-e- Ahmad and her most important work, “Soovashoon” translated to 17 languages. Daneshvar also was a member and first chief of Iran center of authors.

Biography

Simin Daneshvar was born on 27 April 1921 in Shiraz and in an Educated and talented family. She educated primary school in Shiraz and then continued her education and could get PhD in Persian literature and she was teaching art history at the literature faculty of Tehran University.
She was the first woman who entered contemporary fiction literatures. She as the first doctoral graduated Persian literature has many valuable works. In 1948, she published her first short story collection, “Stifled fire”, and could introduced herself as the first skald woman in Iran. At the same year, she met Jalal Al-e- Ahmad and they got married a couple of years latter.
Two significant events in her life include; publishing her first and most important novel, “Soovashoon”, in July and death of Jalal Al-e- Ahmad in September, both in summer of 1969.
Daneshvar retired from Tehran University in 1979 and after she could recovered from illness, restarted writing in 2007 and wrote “go tell the king”, a story about Imam Ali and his innocence. Daneshvar died in February of 2012.

• -family

Her father’s name was “Mohammad Ali Daneshvar” (Ehyaol Saltaneh) who was physician and Simin called him in “Soovashoon” as Abdolah Khan. Ehyaol Saltaneh was a man of culture and literature and was a member of Hafezioun group who used to go to the tomb of Hafez at Tursdays nights to keep his memory alive. Her mother, “Ghamar-o-saltaneh Hekmat” was an artist and poet and thought painting to her children. Ghamar-o-saltaneh Hekmat worked as the manager of girls’ school of fine art in Shiraz. Simin Daneshvar had three brothers and two sisters. His father died in 1942.

Marriage

In 1949, when she was coming back from Esfahan to Tehran met Jalal Al-e-Ahmad in bus. Jalal was two years younger than Simin. Father of Jalal Al-e-Ahmad, “Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Hosseini Taleghani” objected to their marriage because Simin has no Hijab. However, many years Jalal and his father had many conflicts about different issues, but Simin and Jalal got married in 1951, despite of disagreement of Jalal’s family. His father left the ceremony and came back to Qom and after that he did not go to their home for 10 years. Daneshvar had no child and her husband died in 1970 when he was 46 years old. After his death, their home became hangout of many open minded.

• -education

Simin Daneshvar from 1928 educated in Mehraiin School in Shiraz. She
was the top student of Iran diploma examination in 1939 and then stayed at an American dormitory and started study in Persian literature.
Her professors and teachers: “Badiozaman Foroozanfar, Malekoshoaraye Bahar, Parviz Natel Khanlory. She could graduated and got B.A in 1940.
In 1950, she had succeeded to get PHD in Persian literature from Tehran University. Her thesis titled “science of beauty and beauty” related to Persian literature up to seventh century. For completing this thesis, she was under observation of “Fatemeh Sayah” for five years and used to read her, her first stories. By encouragement of Sayah, she read her stories for one year for some body who she found he was “Sadegh Hedayat”. After death of Sayah, she could obtain her thesis under observation of Badiozaman Foroozanfar.
She went to America by "Fulbright" Scholarship in 1953. Fulbright Scholarship was granted to the people of culture by holding examination in different countries.

• -entering authorship area

Simin Daneshvar was familiar with art and literature from her childhood
by her father and mother and continued by academic education in literature in Tehran University. Daneshvar published her first article, “winter is like our life” in 1938 in a local newspaper. After death of her father, and even with sufficient income from her father and her mother’s wealth, forces to write article for Tehran Radio and Iran Newspaper with alias “Shirazi Anonymous “ , in adiition to working as the vice-chancellor of foreign advertisement organization.
Her encouragers for writing story were “Fatemeh Sayah” (her supervisor) and Sadegh Hedayat. Publishing “Suffocated Fire” as her first book of short stories, introduced her as the first female author in Iran in writing story. In summer of 1970, her first novel, “Soovashoon” published.

• -trip to America

In 1953, Simin Daneshvar went to America by using "Fulbright" Scholarship and studied aesthetics for two years in Stanford University, one of the best and expensive universities of United State. She learned fiction and writing story from Valas Stenger (American historian and author ) and drama from Phil Peric (dramatist), in this duration, some of her short storied were published in English in “Pacific isicictator” the Literary magazine and book of Stanford stories.
She learned in America about technic, space, place and environment of story and learned most modern methods of narrative story. In 1956, she came back from America and wrote “a city like heaven” which was weightier than the other works of her.

• -Features of Daneshvar prose

Boostan prose had significantly influence on works of Simin Daneshvar.
She read Hafez every night and believed that Hafez’s Language is the most completed. She did not ignore Khaghani and Nezami but they were not her favorite authors. She said; “Nezami did not fall in love even once in his life”. She also had many studies about Beihaghi and Naser Khosro prose, and sometimes has used his way of writing, but because Jalal used that way, she threw it over. She said; “I don’t refer to Beihaghi, I just want to be myself”.
Simin Daneshvar was an author focused on realism basic in story and did not like abstract narrative and always emphasized on realism.

• -books and Compilations

Stories:

“Suffocated Fire”, 16 short stories, 1949

“A City like Heaven”, 10 stories, 1962, has translated to Italian by Ariana Farokhi
“Who should I say hello to? “, 10 stories, 1980, has translated to Italian by Ariana Farokhi
“Ask Migratory Birds”, 1998

Novels:

“Soovashoon”, 1970
“Wandering Island”, the first volume, 1994
“Wanderer Cameleer”, the second volume of Wandering Island, 2002
“Wanderer Mountain"

Translations:

“Chocolate Soldier” by “Bernard Shaw” , 1950
“Enemies” by “Anton Chekhov” , collection of short story, 1952
“The Cherry Orchard” by ”Schnitzler” , 1953
“Cry, the Beloved Country” by “Alan Paton”, 1972
“The key to successful living” by “Dale Carnegie”, 1953
“The human Comedy” by “William Saroyan”, 1955
"The scarlet Letter” by “Nathaniel Hawthorn”, 1955
“With the Sun” by “Harold Kurland”, The collection of stories for children of all nations, 1958
“Sunny Honey moon” by various authors, 1984
“Zen Buddhism” by “Suzuki”
Other non-fiction books:
“Forty Parrot with Jalal Al-e- Ahmad”, 1972
“Iran Art issues”, Ten Nights, Nights of Iranian poets and authors”, with assistance of Ms. “Nay”, 1978
“Iran Masterpiece Carpets”, two volumes in English and Persian, with assistance of Ms. “Nay”, 1980
“Iran Industry Guide” 1980
“Jalal sundown”, 1981

Articles

“Static Basics”

“Understanding and appreciation of art”, collection of articles, 1996

• - Awards and honors

Simin Daneshvar in 2004, received the award of "Mehregan-e- Adab”
She about this award said: “if people seek our soil in the ground after death and find our Tomb in heart, simply if we will be sustained after death that is valuable”.
Celebration for Simin Daneshvar
Celebration ceremony for Simin Daneshvar, on 9 March 2014, with the title “with Simin : 1922-2012” held by “foundation of fiction” in Shahnaz Professor Forum of Artists Home, at the second anniversary of her death.

• -Review of Simin Daneshvar works

Suffocated Fire
Daneshvar herself did not like her first work, “Suffocated Fire” and believed that this collection is too romantic, because of her age when she completed it, so never ever allowed republishing of it. At the same time, she was significantly influenced by “O. Henry” (American autor, William Sydney Porter) that in contrast with books of Bozorg Alavi and Choobak, was just homework.
This book has many shortages include; presence of author, Contrast to general concepts, Inconsistency, local people and unconventional person. Also, because stories are telling in note way, it created trouble.
“A city like heaven”
The second book of Daneshvar, is “A city like heaven”. She was significantly influenced by “O. Henry” and relative success of book is due to combine of two different concepts like O Henry’s way.
Prose is fracture, but because point of view is omniscient, fracture is negligible. Sequence of real stories is not significant but in “a city like heaven” which is a combination of reality and dream, chronology is presented, as Daneshvar wanted to prove her story is real.

Soovashoon

Soovashoon , one of the most important books of Simin Daneshvar is a historical, political novel, of course not completely historical. Because according to the time of novel, which Liberation front plays an important role on it, we cant see any trace of Liberation front in this novel. Also the book is not just a diary; otherwise it could not be either a novel or a valuable work.
As the saying goes, the novel is somehow coded with an unknown meaning and a known meaning. As after understanding known meaning, you will forget unknown part. The novel is not symbolic because many places and times are not true. Also the novel is not a reference, as hypothetical situations also are not true. Actually, “Gharb Zadegi” by Jalal converted to this novel. “Soovashoon “ refer to some events in reign of Reza Shah in first world war and Daneshvar insists to mention date of events.

Criticizing the Soovashoon

Hossein Sanapur (Author) criticized Soovashoon and said: “ Daneshvar in this realistic novel by using different forces and people in society, Different levels of the population, different cultures and their conflicts, made a complete story which all mentioned factors help to make a good novel. Of course, maybe at the same time this novel is not very attractive for us, if we don’t want to know our past. “

• Death

Simin Daneshvar in June 2007 was hospitalized in Pars Hospital of Tehran because of acute respiratory problems and on 13 August 2007 was discharged from hospital by diagnosis of a medical team. Four years later, on 8 March 2010 after a period of flu died at the age of 90 at her home in Tehran and was buried in Artists part of Behesht Zahra.