TEHRAN – The book “Forty Short Letters to My Wife” written by the late Iranian author Nader Ebrahimi has been translated into Portuguese by Khatereh Kianinejad and published by Intelectual Editora, a publisher in Portugal.

The book is a collection of letters that ‎Ebrahimi wrote to his wife while practicing the art of ‎calligraphy, Mehr reported.

In the letters, he talks about their life together, ‎their love, and their problems, openly discussing their difficulties ‎and shared anxieties.‎ For Ebrahimi the writing of these letters was not just an ‎occasion for practicing calligraphy but an exercise in exploring ‎his understanding of life, love, and the relationship between ‎husband and wife.‎

“Honey, happiness is not a letter that one day a postman rings the bell to hand over. Happiness can come from making a little figurine from a piece of soft clay, as simple as that. By God, it’s as simple as that. But bear in mind that the quality of the clay should be of love and faith, not from anything else,” Ebrahimi wrote in one of his letters.

The original edition in Persian was published in 2011. In 2015, the Novin Audio Book Institute released an audio version of the book. It has also been rendered into English and German in the past years.

Nader Ebrahimi (1936 – 2008) was an Iranian writer, screenwriter, photographer, director, actor, songwriter, and a renowned contemporary novelist.

He earned his diploma in Persian literature and then received his BA in English literature. He worked in various jobs, including teaching and banking. He directed some TV series and documentaries, but he's best known as a novelist.

Ebrahimi was the author of many novels, including “Three Looks at the Man Coming From”, “A Man in Last Banishment”, “On the Blue Red Paths”, “Tomorrow Is Not Like Today”, “Ibn Mashghaleh”, “A Man in Permanent Exile”, “Once More, the Town That I Loved”, “Fire Without Smoke”, and “Dragon’s Tale”.

As a filmmaker, he directed the TV series “Fire Without Smoke” in the early 1970s based on his own novel. He also made a screen adaptation called “The Sound of the Desert” in 1975. His second and last feature was “The Day When the Air Stopped”.

He also directed “Hami and Kami in Long Journeys to Their Homeland”, another TV series that was broadcast by the Iranian state TV before the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

SS/SAB