A*SH*N*A:MANUCHEHR ATASHI IS BORN OR BURNT

manuchehr atashi,persian poet,critic,translator,journalist and educator

*modified sep 24,2010,on poet's birthday

MANUCHEHR ATASHI IS BORN ON THIS DAY...
b.DEHRUD,DASHTESTAN,BUSHEHR,2 MEHR 1310/SEPTEMBER 24,1931
d.29 ABAN 1384/NOVEMBER 20,2005,TEHRAN

ON WHAT ROCK YOU'RE SITTING ON
WHOM ARE YOU UNITED WITH
TILL I JUMP
FROM SHALLOW WATER OF THIS STAR
TO YOUR BEDOUINE PRESENCE
AND UNITE WITH YOU
-from the poem:IN DIRECTION OF REED PIPE AND GOD,
BOOK OF:INCIDENT IN THE MORNING
*This book of Atashi is a good example of his poems of 1370's/1990's and"product of metamorphosys of his sight and mind .At the same he also published BARAN BARG VA ZOGH,in other direction,containing his ghazals,What he consider writing them in break time for technical aspects of poetry.

soon see also:mojbook.com/A-Z major persian poets - A
*
CRITICS AND DETRACTORS OFTEN ASKED ABOUT VALUES AND INTEGRITY OF ATASHI'S WORKS AND THAT MADE ALL OF US TO THINK ABOUT.IN 1981, AFTER TWENTY YEARS OF TEACHING AND WORKING IN TAMASHA MAGAZINE OF IRANIAN RADIO TELEVISION,MANUCHEHR ATASHI WAS RETIRED AND RETURNED TO BUSHEHR.THAT YEAR ,I MADE A TRIP TO SHIRAZ WITH COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS,AND DECIDED TO MAKE A VISIT TO THE POET OF DASHTESTAN.ON MY WAY ,I WENT TO YASUJ OF KOHKILOYEH AND BOVIR AHMADI AND TOOK SOHRAB KIANI,A YOUNG BAKHTIARI POET,WITH ME.IN KAZERUN OF FARS,HASSAN EJTEHADI,ALSO A POET,JOINED US.THEN ALL OF US WITH OUR DOCTORS FRIENDS MADE A VISIT TO ATASHI IN BUSHEHR AND WERE INVITED BY HIM TO A RESTAURANT WITH SOME LOCAL FRIENDS .THE POET ,IN DEEP SOCIAL AND FAMILY TROUBLES AT THAT TIME,SEEMED MOMENTARILY TO BE VERY HAPPY AND TEMPORARY OUT OF HIS SECLUSION.I TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE OCCASION AND AS USUAL ASKED ATASHI A QUESTION OF ,WHAT HE THINKS OF HIMSELF, HIS LIFE AND HIS RESUME IN POETRY.AND WHAT IS THE TEST OF HIS LIFE AT THIS POINT?
THE POET WAS READY.HE SAID:
I AM LIKE THIS MAGAZINE ,PUBLISHED ALREADY AND ON STAND AT HAND,BUT WITH A FEW BLANK PAGES.I AM GOING TO FEEL OUT THOSE PAGES TO MAKE IT COMPILED AND COMPLETE AND THEN LEAVE.
I THOUGHT OF ATASHI AS A VERY ORIGINAL POET,FROM THE VERY BEGINNING,WHEN HE CAME TO TEHRAN IN LATE 1330'S/1950'S ,TO ATTEND DANESH SARAYE ALI/THE SUPERIOR SCHOOL.HE WAS A PROSPEROUS NIMAI POET WITH A VAST APPROACH TO CLASSICAL PERSIAN POETRY,AS WELL,AND PARTICULARLY DEEPLY INVOLVED WITH HAFEZ AND HIS DIVAN.
DURING  LATER YEARS,WITH ALL POLITICAL CHAOS OF LIFE HE WAS INVOLVED WITH,HE STARTED A COMMUNE PERIOD OF SILENCE OR REPEATING HIMSELF.
1N 1350'S/1970'S HE INSPIRED AND SUPPORTED A GROUP OF AVANT GARDE YOUNG POETS,MOSTLY KNOWN AS MOJ NAB OR PURE WAVE.HE WAS ALSO INSPIRED BY THEM AND OTHER YOUNGER POETS AND BROKE HIS SILENCE AND THE BARRIER OF REPETITIONS,TO RETURN TO SCENES OF POETRY AND JOURNALISM.
ATASHI THEN ENTERED ANOTHER PERIOD OF SILENCE AND DISENCHANTMENT IN 1360'S/1980'S.AT THAT TIME HE WAS DENIED REGISTERING WITH KANUN NEVISANDEGAN/IRANIAN WRITERS ASSOCIATION,ESPECIALLY BY AHMAD SHAMLU'S DISAWOW,WHO BLUNTLY EXPRESSED THIS,AND LATER EVEN TO A SHADOW SHURAYE NEVISANDEGAN AND HONARMANDAN/COUNCIL OF ARTISTS AND WRITERS ,DUE TO HIS POLITICAL BACKGROUNDS.HE LATER BRIDGED WITH SMALLER LITERARY GROUPS SUCH AS SEH SHANBEH GROUP ,AND THROUGH THEM STARTED PUBLISHING HIS WORKS IN YOUNG PROGRESSIVE LITERARY JOURNALS LIKE DONYA YE SOKHAN.THESE YEARS ,BECAUSE OF MY ACADEMIC WORKS,I HAD MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO VISIT HIM IN BUSHEHR,KHORMOJ,KANGAN AND VICINITIES,OR IN TEHRAN.THIS WAS WHEN I GATHERED SOME MORE NOTES OF OUR MEETINGS AND MADE SOME LENGHTY INTERVIEWS WITH HIM,ORAL AS WELL AS  WRITTEN,LIKE SCHOOL TESTS!ANOTHER MARATHON INTERVIEW
TOOK PLACE IN U.S DIFFERENT CITIES ,IN HIS SPARE TIME,WHEN HE VISITED AND CONTRIBUTED TO CIRA MEETINGS IN RUTGERS UNIVERSITY AND INVITED TO SOE PERSIAN COMMUNITIES.
IN ALL THESE FORTY SOME YEARS I REPEATEDLY ASKED MYSELF THIS QUESTION:
WHERE IS THE STANCE OF MANUCHEHR ATASHI IN PANTHEON OF POETS OR AMONG MAJOR CONTEMPORARY PERSIAN POETS?
I THINK WITH THAT PRIMARY ORIGINALITY,LATER INFLUENCED BY VISION AND POETRY OF YOUNGER GENERATION LIKE MOJ NAB AND OTHER POETS LIKE MOHAMMAD MOKHTARI,WHO WERE REJUVENATING HIM,ALSO WITH HIS SEARCH AND THRIVING THROUGH NIMA AND NIMAI POETRY,PERSIAN CLASSICAL POETRY,WORLD POETRY,AND CREATIVE JOURNALISM,MANUCHEHR ATASHI PREPARED AND MADE HIMSELF AND MADE TO  THE GROUP OF DOZEN MAJOR CONTEMPORARY PERSIAN POETS.HE STOPPED OR WAS SILENCED TEMPORARILY ON THE COURSE,BUT NEVER REGRESSED OR FAILED,WITH ANY KIND OF EXCUSES.
HE WAS INSPIRED BY HIS PEERS AND CONTEMPORARIES,AND HE INSPIRED THEM.
HE WILL INSPIRE YOUNGER GENERATIONS TO COME.
AND THAT IS THE NAME HE LIVED WITH ,
ALTHOUGH IN FEAR OF SOMETIMES BEING EXILED OR BURNT.
REAL POETS LIVE FOREVER.

*from GHAZAL OF MIRROR:
IT IS GONE FROM MIRROR
MY EYES OF YESTERDAY
IT APPEARED IN MIRROR
YOUR FACE OF TODAY
WHETHER YOU ARE OR YOU ARE NOT
YOUR TREES OF TODAY
RUNS TUROUGH THE MIRROR...
selected and tr.by FARAMARZ SOLEIMANI
in MOJ BOOK"prominent persian poets project"
from M.ATASHI's:How Bitter Is This Apple
copyrighted 2001

*IT IS TIME
IT IS TIME TO RETURN
TO NAMES AND LETTERS
LEAVING "OURSELVES"TO DO
THEIR WEARY WORK
IT IS TIME TO LET NAMES
CARESS EACH OTHERS
AND KISS IN HIDING
AMD ON THE LINES OF LETTERS
DISSAPPEAR WHILE SMILING

IT IS TIME THAT MY NAME
SITS ON THE SAND
AND REWRITE YOUR NAME REPEATEDLY
TILL THE WHOLE SHORE IS A ROSE GARDEN
AND YOUR NAME WINKS TO ME
THE SEA GOES INSANE
AND A COLORFUL STORM
RUNS ALL AROUND THE SHORE

IT IS TIME OUR NAMES IN OUR LETTERS
HEARS FLOWERS NEW NAMES
EGLANTINE SAYS:
NOSTRADAMOS,I AM
AND I KNOW DESTINY OF DAHLIAS
AFTER FORUGH'S NAILS BECAME BLOODY
AND I KNOW
WHIRLPOOL OF UPPER JASMINE TO BE PURPLE
AND LOWER JUDAS TREE STORMY...
IT IS TIME OUR NAME CORRESPONDS
NEW LETTERS
AND HEAR THEIR NAME IN FEAR
FROM POPPY FLOWERS JAWS

YOU ARE CALLED HELL
YOU ARE CALLED DEATH
YOU WILL BURN ATASHI'S NAMEYOU WILL MAKE A HELL OF ATASHI
AND THE LETTERS THROW THE HELL
IN TOWNS AND POEMS
AND BURN POEMS AND BOOKS
AND POEMS AND BOOKS MAKE A HELL OF LITERATURE
AND THE LITERATURE OF THE WORLD...
AND SOMEONE THERE WILL SING
WHATT A PRETTY HELL!
TR.:F.S.
POSTED FOR M.ATASHI'S BIRTHDAY,ALSO IN THE WEEK OF CENSURED BOOKS.
see also:mojbook.com/major persian poets
see also:my essays on poetry of manuchehr atashi,in farsi,including the latest one in:
 FARAMARZ SOLEIMANI,SHERI BEH RANG ZAKHM/a pem in color of wound,
NEVESHTA,Vol 1,No 1,pp 65-78
also in: www.neveshtaa.org/vol1/no1