Ahmad Akbarpour

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احمد اکبرپور
Ahmad Akbarpour
Born (1970-07-31) July 31, 1970 (age 53)
OccupationAuthor of short fiction, poetry, children's books
LanguagePersian
NationalityIranian
Alma materShahid Beheshti University
Notable worksThe Train of That Night

Good Night Commander!

Emperor of Words
Notable awardsYear book of Iranian Minister of Culture
IBBY honor list
Website
ahmadakbarpoor.blogfa.com

Ahmad Akbarpour (Persian: احمد اکبرپور) Ahmad Akbarpūr Persian pronunciation: [æhˈmæd(-e) ækbærpuːr], born July 31, 1970, in Chah Varz, Lamerd, Fars Province, is a novelist and author of short stories and children's books.[1]

Biography[edit]

Ahmad Akbarpour was born on 31 July 1970 in Chah Varz. He got his BA in psychology from Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran.

Ahmad Akbarpour has started his literary career at the age of 24 by composing poetry. He published his first and only collection of poetry, People of the Thursday Evening, in 1993.

A student of Reza Barahani and Houshang Golshiri, he soon started writing fiction for adolescents, adopting a postmodern style of writing.

Books[edit]

That Night’s Train, published in 1999, received the Book of the Year award from Iran's Ministry of Culture. The novel narrates the story of a little girl who recently lost her mother and meets with a teacher during a train trip.[2][3] This short novel was adapted as a TV film by Hamid Reza Hafezi and later as a movie by Hamid Reza Ghotbi.

Published in 2002, Good Night Commander was financially supported jointly by UNICEF and Iran's Children’s Book Council. This children's anti-war book tells the story of a maimed child who meets with an enemy toy soldier in his dreams.[4]

Themes[edit]

During his career, Akbarpour discussed such topics as fear, loneliness, and peace. In some of his works as If I Were a Pilot, Good Night Commander, and Emperor of Words he shows his disdain for the destructive impact of war on children.

Translations[edit]

Good Night Commander and That Night’s Train (illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault) have been published in English by Groundwood Books in the United States and Canada in 2010 and 2012 respectively.

Bibliography[edit]

Poetry[edit]

Year Original Persian English Translation
1993 Mardoman-e Asr-e Panjshanbeh People of Thursday's Evening

Youth books[edit]

Year Original Persian English Translation
1997 Donyay-ye Goushe-o-Kenar-e Daftaram The World of My Notebook Margins
1998 Ghatar-e An Shab That Night's Train
2001 Vaghti Narahat Bashim, Jadeha Tamam Nemishavand The Roads Don't Finish, When We Are Sad
2002 Emperatur-e Kalamat Emperor of Words
2003 Shab Bekheyr Farmandeh! Good Night Commander!
Man Nokar-e Baba Nistam I'm Not My Dad's Servant
2006 Dokhtari Saket ba Parandeha-yi Sholough A Silenced Girl with Noisy Birds
Agar Man Khalaban Boudam If I Was a Pilot
2005 Ro'yahay-e Jonoubi Southern Dreams
2010 Ghoul va Docharkheh Giant and Bicycle

Short Story[edit]

Year Original Persian English Translation
2001 Agahiy-e Nashr-e Alef The Ads of Alef Publisher

Awards[edit]

  • Honor list of IBBY 2006: The Emperor of Words [5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Arts & Culture: Children's Literature Near Int'l Standards". Iran Daily. 2006-07-23. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  2. ^ "Children's Book Review: That Night's Train by Ahmad Akbarpour, trans. From the Persian by Majid Saghafi, illus. By Isabelle Arsenault. Groundwood (PGW, dist.), $14.95 (96p) ISBN 978-1-55498-169-4".
  3. ^ Jalali, Maryam (9 August 2012). "Fantasy stories trend in works of Ahmad Akbarpour in Iran". Journal of Human Sciences. 9 (2): 641–650.
  4. ^ Jalali, Maryam (9 August 2012). "Fantasy stories trend in works of Ahmad Akbarpour in Iran". Journal of Human Sciences. 9 (2): 641–650.
  5. ^ Honour List 2006