Ali Mohammad Afghani - Biography

Biography

Veteran contemporary writer, Ali Mohammad Afghani was born in 1925 in Kermanshah. He was raised in a poor family. Although a top student, he dropped out of school to work along with his father. He tried to get employed in the National Iranian Oil Company, but failed for certain reasons. Then he decided to continue his education. After obtaining a high school diploma, he joined the armed forces, and studied at the Military Academy. That was a time when the country was experiencing political turmoil. He became a member of a clandestine political organization comprising army colonels. They had left-wing political inclinations and opposed the then leader of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. On Aug. 19, 1953, the nationalist government of Mohammad Mosaddeq was overturned through a Shah-backed coup d’etat. Activities of the organization were disclosed after Zahedi swept to power, Afghani and a number of his colleagues were arrested. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, but was released after five years due to a commutation. Afghani wrote his masterpiece Lady Ahou’s Husband while in prison. The novel was published in 1961. Literary figures such as the renowned translator Najaf Daryabandari and prominent author Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh went into raptures about his novel. The novel depicts the appalling life of Iranian women in that era. Daryabandari once stated, "Looking into the life of the rabble, the author in this book pictures a painful tragedy. The scenes described in the book are reminiscent of masterpieces written by Leo Tolstoy and Honoré de Balzac. I have never had the same opinion about any other Persian books." In March 1962, Jamalzadeh, in a letter to a friend, wrote, "I received Lady Ahoo’s Husband. I think fellow writers and I should kiss goodbye writing. Iran is a bizarre country. It nurtures talented youth in no time. What a wonderful book! Such descriptive images." Four years later in 1965, Afghani published his second novel Happy People of Qarehsou Valley. The novel is about the love of a poor boy for the daughter of the village lord. It also depicts political currents of the post-1941 period. His other works include Woven of Grief, Sindokht, Turnip, and Cousin Parvin. His forthcoming books are Fathers’ World; Children’s World as well as a novel on Iran-Iraq War.