Adib Burumand

Adib-i Burumand, 'Abdul'ali, (b. 1921), son of Mustafa Quli, with the nom de plume of Adib (‘Belletrist’), was born in the Gaz-i Burkhwar township, Isfahan. His father was a respectable farmer. Adib was awarded the title of ‘National Poet’ (Sha'ir-i Milli) for his nationalist, patriotic poetry. A skilled calligrapher, he was highly learned in the Arabic language and had a solid background in historical chronicles. He was also well-versed in French, as any prominent Iranian thinker had to be in that time. Although he never aspired to political office, he was influential enough to be regarded as one of the reformists of his time.  

Adib was taught to read and write by a tutor in his hometown. He went on to primary and high school education at the Madrasa-yi Milli-yi Farhang (‘National School of Culture’) in Isfahan. He then entered the senior year at the Sarimiyya High School, receiving his diploma in 1942. He studied law at the University of Tehran, gaining his LL.B in 1945, embarking then upon his legal career. Adib developed an interest in prose literature and poetry in secondary school, studying the verse the verse of Adib al-Mamalik Farahani, Malik ash-Shu'ara' Bahar, and Iraj Mirza. 

He composed his own poems, as well, publishing them from 1945 in periodicals, including the periodicals Akhgar, 'Irfan-i Isfahan,  Now Bahar, Iran-i Ma, Damavand, Gulha-yi Rangarang, Nida-yi Azadi, and Sida-yi Iran. He had already been writing literary prose since the age of 16, focusing more on poetry from the age of 17. He became interested in the poets and poetry of the era of the constitutional struggle, composing verse on current themes, dealing with contemporary issues. 

Burumand continued to cultivate his literary knowledge and practice, writing poetry in his collegiate years. He made meticulous study of a wealth of Persian classical texts in prose and verse and tried his hand at composing texts in the classical vein, while furthering his study of Arabic and French. 

Following the occupation of Iran on the 25th of August 1941 by the Allied forces, he wrote political, patriotic poetry, published in Iranian periodicals. With the separatist movement in Azerbaijan, he attacked the Democratic Party of that region and Sayyid Ja'far Pishavari's administration thereof in both poetry and prose articles, carrying on his criticism well after the rebellion was over. 

He was offered the post of assistant district attorney of the city of Ardabil under the Ministry of Justice in 1946, but turned it down, and instead applied for the issuance of legal apprenticeship permit from the Ministry of Justice.  Two years later, he set out on the career of attorney at law, primarily representing the Bank-i Melli-yi Iran (Iranian National Bank), accepting few other contracts. He pursued his career with a strong moral sense, doing his best to rectify injustice wherever he saw it. 

He became a fervent adherent of the Jibha-yi Milliyi Iran (the Iranian National Front [a liberal organisation in contrast to the later movements with a similar name in western Europe]) in November 1949, when it was founded under the leadership of Dr. Muhammad Musaddiq, whose nationalisation of the petroleum industry led to a national revival. 

When Musaddiq’s government was overthrown by the coup d’etat of 19 August 1953, Burumand remained a firm supporter of the ousted regime. This was consistent with his unceasing advocacy of the democracy and liberty of Iran against despotism and colonialism. 

His poetry, dealing mainly with patriotic, political and national issues, has appeared in the collection entitled Hasil-i Hasti (‘The Fruit of Existence’). He published his first collection, Nala-ha-yi Watan (‘Cries of Homeland’) in 1944. His second collection, Surud-i Raha'i (‘Hymn of Liberation’) appeared in 1952. His collection of ghazals was published in 1983. His other works include Afkar-i Imruz (‘Thoughts of Today’) and Hunar-i Qalamdan (‘The Art of the Pen Case’). In his poetry he tended dto follow the models of the classical poets of Khurasan.

Shu'ara-yi Mu'asir-i Isfahan (31-33); Zindagi-nama-yi Rijal u Mashahir (2, 148-151); Sukhanvaran-i Nami-yi Mu'asir-i Iran (1, 235-240).