TEHRAN – “Abraham in the Fire” by Ahmad Shamlu, one of Iran’s most influential literary figures of the 20th century, has been published in Italian.

The Rome publishing house Ensemble is the publisher of “Abrama Nel Fuoco” translated into Italian by Faezeh Mardani and Francesco Occhetto.

In a preface to the book, Italian writer Davide Brullo wrote, “Ahmad Shamlu’s poetry explores the deepest furrows of the continuous and often bitter political-cultural metamorphosis that traces and distinguishes the path of the contemporary history of Iran.

“His constant and decisive presence in the artistic panorama of the country makes his literary heritage a rich and passionate testimony with multiple interpretative layers. 

“A distinct voice that fixes the great transformations of its land and its time in an innovative and multicolored poetic language.”

The collection contains 21 poems composed between 1970 and 1973. The original version was published in 1973.

The front cover of the book features the painting “Falling Angels” by Iranian artist Aidin Aghdashlu.

Shamlu (1925-2000) wrote under the pseudonym “A. Bamdad”. He was one of the contemporary poets who openly defied the conventional restrictions of formal Persian poetry in favor of heartfelt free-flowing verse. 

Earlier in 2019, Iranian translator Maryam Heidari said that she was translating a collection of poems by Shamlu into Arabic.

She said that the collection will be published by Al-Mutawassit, an Arab publishing house in the Italian city of Milan.

Shamlu was himself a prominent translator. His translation of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s “The Little Prince” has always been acclaimed by readers and critics. 

Photo: Front cover of the Italian translation of Persian poet Ahmad Shamlu’s book “Abraham in the Fire”.

MMS/YAW