Ghadam Ali Sarami (Persian: قدمعلی سرامی) is an Iranian author and poet. He was born in Ramhormoz a small town in southwest of Iran. He has received Ph.D. in Persian Literature and Language from University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran in 1968. He is an associate professor of Persian Literature and language at Zanjan University. He is an expert in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (The Epic of Kings), Bayhaghi’s History, and Hafiz, Sa’di, Rumi and other masters of Persian literature and poetry.
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Ghadam-Ali Sarami | |
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Born | Ramhormoz, Khozestan, Iran | 28 January 1944
Occupation | Novelist |
Nationality | Iranian |
Education | Bachelor of Arts |
Alma mater | University of Tehran |
Genre | Children's literature, |
Children | 2 daughters, 3 son |
Website | |
www |
EDUCATION
editPh.D., University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, 1986 (Persian Literature and Language)
M.A., University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, 1970 (Persian Literature and Language)
B.A., University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, 1968 (Persian Literature and Language)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
editFrom 1974 to present, I have been teaching courses in Persian literature, children’s literature, children’s drama, and creative management at several colleges and institutes of higher education of Iran on non-tenure track basis.
Prior to the 1979 revolution, I taught at The Tehran Higher Institute of Foreign Languages and Literature, and The Tehran Higher Institute of Business Administration for four years. Since 1979, I have been teaching undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate courses at the University of Tehran’s College of Fine Arts, Shahid Beheshti University (formerly National University), and Azad University. Before the revolution, I also taught at the National Center for Educating Gifted and Talented Children and Youth.
Presently, I am teaching at the Zanjan and Sanandaj Universities. I teach graduate level courses in Persian Literature such as Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (The Epic of Kings), Bayhaghi’s History, and courses Hafiz, Sa’di, Rumi and other masters of Persian literature and poetry. In addition, since 1992 I have been the thesis adviser of numerous post graduate students.
In addition to teaching Persian literature and language, I have extensive experience in the field of youth and children’s literature, children drama, and child psychology and pedagogy.
I have also developed a course of music studies for children and have been a member of the music council of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, IRIB, in 1987 and 1988.
EDITORIAL EXPERIENCE
editIn January 1999, I established the Tarfand Publishing Center. To date this center has published several books on Iranian culture, literature, folklore, etc. Here are some of the Books the Tarfand Publications has published:
- Aalipoor, Manoochehr, Nima be Ravaayat-e Jalal Al-Ahmad (Nima as Conveyed by Jalal Al-Ahmad).
- Amin, Sayyed Hassan, Iraaniyan va Kesrat-Geraayi-ye Dini (Religious Pluralism in Iran).
- Hosseini, Shirin, Golha-ye Chini (Chinese Flowers). A book on Chinese flower arrangement.
- Modiano, Patrick, Khiyaabaan-e Butikhaa-ye Taarik (Rue des Boutiques Obscures). A novel translated from French into Farsi by Foroogh Ahmadi.
- Owlad-Andish, Gholam Hassan, Kenaar-e Khooshe-ye Gandom (Beside the Wheat Spike), a collection of poems.
- Panahi-Semnani, Mohmmad Ahmad, Songs of Eva's Daughters.
- Rokhzadi, Ali, Dastoor Zabaan va Aavaa Shenasi-ye Zabaan-e Kordi (Phonology and Grammar of Kurdish Language).
- Sarrami, Ghadam Ali, Az Khaak taa Aflaak (From Earth to Heaven), a survey of sonnets and masnavis of Mowlana Jalaleddin Balkhi (Rumi).
- Sarrami, G. A., Ghaashogh-e Jaadoogar (The Magician’s Spoon), a story for young adults.
- Sarrami, G. A., Panj Maghaale dar Baareye Adabiyyaat-e Koodak (Five Articles on Children Literature).
- Sarrami, G. A., Simorgh va Aftaab (Simorgh [legendary bird] and Sunshine), a story for young adults.
- Yasrebi, Yahya, Tarsidan Na, Porsidan (Not Fearing, but Asking). A book on philosophy for young adults.
From the 1972-1977, I was the editor of the literary sections of the Ettela’at Newspaper and Pishgam Magazine.
OTHER EXPERIENCE
editIn the 1970s and prior to the 1979 revolution, I was the director of Center for Research on Creative Work of Children and Young Adults. This Center was part of The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults. (This institute runs all of the public libraries for children in Iran and also offers various art and literature workshops and training courses for children and young adults).
PARTICIPATION IN PANEL DISCUSSIONS AND SCIENTIFIC FORUMS:
editI have taken part in numerous scientific forums, to name a few:
- The Seminar on Contemporary Literature, Shiraz, Iran.
- The Commemoration of Ferdowsi, Tehran, Iran.
- The Commemoration of Ferdowsi, Dushambeh, Tajikistan.
- Symposium on the Role of Education in Elementary Schools, Tehran, Iran.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
editBooks:
edit- Clear and Easy as Water, a collection of poems composed for my youngest daughter, (Nikan Ketab Publications, 2001).
- Five Articles on Children’s Literature, (Tarfand Publications, Tehran, 2001).
- Solomon's Rug. (Ruzegar Publications, 1999).
- The Complete works of Hafiz, editor, (Hessamzadeh Publications, 1996).
- From Two Points to Everything: A collection of Poems, (Mashyaneh Publications, 1995).
- Az Khaak taa Aflaak (From Earth to Heaven), a survey of sonnets and masnavis of Mowlana Jalaleddin Balkhi (Rumi). (Chapar-e Farzanegan Publications, 1991).
- The Green Legend, a story for children, (Shifteh Publications, 1991).
- The Red Balloon, a poem for children, (Ehya-ye Ketab Publications, 1991).
- A Boy Who Knew Three Languages, a story for children, (Kavir Publications, 1991).
- Fireflies, Silver Bowl and I, a story for children, (Shifteh Publicatins, 1990). This book was published twice in the same year. In addition, it has been translated to English and French in order to be internationally published.
- Sweeter Than Flight, a poem for children, (Published by The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, 1988). The Council of the Children’s Books selected it as the Best Book of the Year, and the writer received the special plaque as well as a cash prize. In addition, the story was turned into a puppet show that was performed in the City Theater by Mrs Marziyyeh Mahboob.
- From the Color of Flower to the Sting of Thorn: The morphology of the tales of Shahnameh, (Elmi-Farhangi Publications, 1982, 1994 and 2000). This book was selected as the only admirable book in literature by the Council of The Best Book of The Year of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
- Parting, a story for children based on a folkloric tale, (Published by The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, 1979). The ninth edition is scarce. Altogether, 210,000 copies have been distributed. The Institute has translated and published this work in English, Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, and Baluchi.
- A Tale of Friendship, a story for children, (Published by The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, 1976). The sixth edition of this book scarce.
- With This Crimson Silence, (Safialishah Publishing Agency, 1967 and 1975). This book is a collection of my poems the sale of which was banned in both years.
- The Smile of Desire, (Navaye Mellat Publications, Ahvaz, Iran 1963). This book is a collection of the poems I composed in my teens. The introduction was written by Dr. Mohammad Ebrahim Bastani Parizi andMy Professor Dr. Majdoddin Keyvani.
Poems, Stories and Articles:
editIn addition to the above, I have published hundreds of poems, stories, and articles in the newspapers, literary journals and anthologies. The following is a selected list.
Articles on Literary Criticism:
edit- Criticism on the poetry of Parvin E’tesami, Mirzadeh Eshgi, and Aref Qazvini, published in Ettela’at newspaper in 1976-1977.
- “The Bird in Whose Nest I Found the Key to the Garden,” a criticism on the Persian poems of Ighbal Lahuri, published in Pishgam Magazine, 1976.
- A criticism on The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm, published in Pishgam Magazine, 1976.
- A criticism on Jonathan Livingston Seagull: A Story by Richard Bach. Published in Pishgam Magazine.
- A criticism on Nima Yushig's poetry, published in the Ettela’at Newspaper, 1975.
- A criticism on From Saba to Nima by Yahya Arianpour, published in Ettela’at newspaper. In the preface to the next edition of his book, the author declared that this was the best criticism the literary world had ever seen.
- A criticism on Reza Davari’s critique of The Rey Philosopher by Mahdi Mohaghegh. Published in Ferdowsi Journal of Arts and Literature in 1965.
- “Resurrection of Sonnet,” a criticism on the poems of Simin Behbahani. Published twice in two separate issues of Ferdowsi Journal of Arts and Literature.
Articles on Literature and Culture:
edit- “Poverty Store,” an introduction to Masnavi-e Mowlavi by Mowlana Jalaleddin Balkhi (Rumi),Behzad Publications, (1991).
- “From Watching to Versifying,” a new look at the complete works of Sa’di, published in Tahghighat-e Eslami Journal.
- “From Never to Ever,” a review of the Tazkarat-al-Owlia by Attar-e Neyshaburi, published in Tahghighat-e Eslami Journal.
- “A Glance at the Iranian Games in the Past,” Puyeh Magazine, a special edition published by The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults.
- “Participation of Children in the Ancient Literature of Iran,” Quarterly of The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults.
- “A Skim Through the Lullabies of Iran and The World,” Puyesh Magazine, No. 1.
- “Visiting Abu Reyhan-e Biruni,” Tehran Mosavar Magazine, 1977.
- “A World Sitting in a Corner,” published in Karname-ye Zarrin, edited by A. Dehbashi. A collection of articles written by Iranian scholars and dedicated to the subject of life and works of the famous literary scholar, Dr. Abdol Hossein Zarrinkub.
SELECTED UNPUBLISHED/UNDER PUBLICATION WORKS
editMy unpublished works including verse and prose exceeds 10,000 pages. The following is a selected list:
- About 5000 poems in modern and classical styles.
- Translation of the Toheed section of Almoghni by the great scientist, Abdol-Jabbar Hamadani, the spokesman of the famous Mo'tazali.
- Persian version of Al-Jaheliato va Adaboboha by Professor George Qorriyab.
- Translation of a collection of 40 poems by Emily Dickinson into Farsi.
- Translation of Tragicomedia de don Cristóbal y la doñá Rosita by Federico García Lorca into Farsi.
- Translation of The Bird, a story for young adults by Leslie Mark Chorpan into Farsi.
- Translation of The Devoted Friend, a short story by Oscar Wild into Farsi.
- The Collection of the lectures presented at the Culture and Development Seminars, Yoguslavia, 1988.
- Selections from Divan-e Kabir (The Sonnets of Shams-e Tabrizi), by Mowlana Jalaleddin Balkhi (Rumi), including a preface and appendices.
- A survey of the content of 109 children books.
- A survey of the content of 200 Iranian legends.
- The Dictionary of Proper Subjects. A dictionary for children and young adults modeled after the famous Dehkhoda Dictionary, Moe’in Dictionary, and other sources and references. This work is being kept at the research center of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults with no word on its pending publication.
- The article, “Iranian Dialects and Languages and the Quality and Quantity of Their Publications.” This article is to be published in the international journals of UNESCO. It has also been published in the Ruzegar-e Vasl Magazine.
- “To the Memory of Jalal Al-Ahmad,” an article analyzing the characteristics of this great author.
- The article, “The Metamorphosis of the Iranian Culture in Ghajariye.”
- The article, “Summary of Ibn-e Khaldun's Thoughts.”
- The article, “A Glance at Free Verse and Its Criteria.”
- The paper, “The Quality and Quantity of Children’s Poetry.” This work is being kept at the research center of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults with no word on its pending publication.
- The article, “An Attitude toward the Concept of Storytelling in the Koran.” This work is being kept at the research center of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults with no word on its pending publication.
- The article, “A Couple of Eyes with a Single look.” This article was read in a symposium on the role of treatment in teaching at elementary schools, and it has been published in the proceedings of the symposium.
- The article, “Didactic thoughts in Garshaspnameh.” This work is being kept at the research center of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults with no word on its pending publication.
- “Pebbles,” a collection of satire, which was published in ten editions of the Pishgam Magazine. The author plans to publish it as a book.
I have close to fifty (50) books, including 20 stories, 100 poems and several scientific articles for children and young adults that are ready for immediate publication.
OTHER CREATIVE WORK
editAudio Recordings:
editIn commemoration of the millennium anniversary of the composing of Shahnameh, I wrote the script of an audio tape titled “Sug-e Sohrab” (Mourning Sohrab). The composer of the music was Mr. Hossein Yussef-Zamani. The tape was distributed at the time of the commemoration.
Filmstrips:
editDuring my years of employment at the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, I authored a total of sixteen (16) filmstrips. These were made into films and the films were distributed to all branch libraries of the Institute nationwide. The following is a selected list:
- “Musician Cypress,” based on the story of Barbad in Shahnameh.
- “Suspending in the Air,” based on the story of Akvan-e Div in Shahnameh.
- “Rustam and Esfandiar,” based on the story of Rustam and Esfandiar in Shahnemeh.
- “Rainbow of Images,” an extract from lines of Shahnameh.
- “The Star in the Sky of Literature,” based on Parvin E’tesami’s poetry. This filmstrip has been published as a book.
- “The Tree of Wishes,” a fictional story in verse and prose.
- “How Many Apricots Are There in the World?” A fictional story in prose.
- “The Queen of Flowers” (prose), based on a folkloric tale.
- “Red-Scarved Child” (verse), based on a folkloric tale.
- “Ivory Chamber” (prose), based on a folkloric tale.
- “The Hundredth Gold” (prose), based on a folkloric tale.
Plays and Works for the Stage:
edit- Hejamatian, a play for young adults. Performed before the revolution.
- Ghu-Ghu-Li-Ghu-Ghu (Cock-a-doodle-doo), a play for children. Distributed as a video tape.
- Sweeter Than Flight, a puppet show based on the book by that title. Performed in the City Theater. Directed by Mrs. Marziyeh Mahboob.
Radio Lectures:
editTen lectures on cultural and literary subject matters delivered in Pahneye Kherad program of Khorasan Radio.
Television Programs:
editIn 1976, I wrote the filmstrips of two television series: “Listen to the Reed Pipe,” a program introducing Iranian poets to the public. “The City of the Sun,” a program of review and criticism of the latest published books.