Mihrdad Avesta

Avesta, Muhamamd Riza Rahmani (1927-1991), son of Muhammad Sadiq, known as Mihrdad Avista, whose noms de plume were Avista and Mihrdad. He was born in Burujird and died of a heart attack while in the course of editing a collection of verse for the poetry council of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. His maternal grandfather was a poet of great talent with the nom de plume of Ra'na. Mihrdad was a highly adept poet in his own right, encouraged by his teachers as early as the fifth grade. He published little in his adolescence, tending more to composing qasidas, too weighty for the convenional readersahip. On completing his primary schooling, the 12-year-old Mihrdad moved with his family to Tehran in 1942. He studied at night school for his high school diploma in literature in 1948, then found employment at the Ministry of Education, assisnged to organizing the libraries existing at the ministry itself and establishing libraries in the provinces, as well as editing literary texts, articles and books published by the ministry, in addition to high school teaching. At the same time he undertook study of the Traditional Sciences in the theology department of the University of Tehran, receiving his BA and furthered his studies in analytical philosophy at the University of Tehran and obtained his MA in the same field. He was arrested in August 1953 and was imprisoned for seven months on the charges of supporting Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq, opposing the Shah, and delivering revolutionary speeches consequent to the 19^th August Coup. On the literary front he  edited and published Salman Savaji's Divan the same year and wrote a treatise on the relationship between philosophy, logic, psychology and ethics. The following year he began a teaching career at the University of Tehran. He subsequently produced a philosophical work, 'Aql u ishraq (‘Intellect and Illumination’) and then edited and published Khayyam's treatises, Nawruz-nama and Risala fi'l-wujud, with a biographical intoduction. He made the acquaintance of Sebastian Monet, a French philosopher and orientalist, in 1956, with whom he furthered his philosophical studies, teaching him in return the works of the Sufi poets Rumi and 'Attar.. Their scholarly exchanges continued until 1960 when he published his first collection of poetry, Az karvan-i rafta (‘Of the Departed Caravan’). In the succeeding years he published Palizban, Hamasa-yi Arash (‘The Epic of Arash’), and Az imruz ta hargiz (‘From Today to Never’). He traveled for the first time to France, England and Italy in the summer of 1967. Two years later he produced Ashk u sarnivisht (‘Tears and fate’), a selection of world literary masterpieces; Ravish-i tahqiq dar dastur-i zaban-i farsi (‘Research Methodology in Persian Grammar’), and Shiva-yi nigarish (‘A Manual of Writing and Orthography’). He traveled to Europe in 1970 and established his contact with Jean-Paul Sartre during his one-month stay in France and Switzerland, an association which he continued for several years. He brought out a collection of poetry, Sharab-i khanagi-yi tars-i muhtasib khurda (‘Home-brew wine drunk in fear of the inspector’) in July 1972, which was banned. in the same year. In June 1973 his critical book, Tirana, in which he had criticized some political issues, appeared and was immediately censored, with a one-year ban imposed on all publication of his works.

He traveled to France and Switzerland in the summer 1977, visting the distinguished author Sayyid Muhammad 'Ali Jamalzada in Geneva. In June 1980 he went to spend a month in France, lecturing at various universities and cultural centers.

In the course of is teaching career in Iran he taught Persian literature, philosophy, history of art, philosophy of the history of art, social history of art, research methodology of art in Europe, research methodology of art in the Orient, world literature, drama, aesthetics, and research methodology in aesthetics, at such institutions as the University of Tehran, the Institute of Translation, the College of Decorative Arts, the Teacher’s Training College [‘Danish-sara-yi Aali’], and the Instttute of Fine Art.

Although he was more interested in composing qasidas, he was also skilled in other forms, such as the ghazal, the mathnavi (couplet poem), and the du-bayti and ruba’i (two forms of quatrain). He composed poetry in the Khurasani genre, in the style of the likes of Nasir Khusraw, Khaqani and Mas'ud Sa'd Amongst his poetical subjects he treats of philosophical points and subtleties. His body was interred in the section consecrated to notables of culture, literature and art of Iran in the Bihisht-i Zahra Cemetery along with the likes of Mujtaba Minuwi and Mashayikh-i Firaydani. He has been termed the father of qasida composition in contemporary Persian poetry. He is considered by some to be second only to  Malik al-Shu'ara' Bahar in this field. He has been cited by Jean-Paul Sartre as one of the most distinguished thinkers in the East.

His works include the following collections of poetry: Az karvan-i raftia; Palizban; Hamasa-yi Arash; Sharab-i khanagi-yi tars-i muhtasib khurda; Imam u hamasa-yi digar; and Parniyan. In addition, he has edited a collection of poetry by 'Abdullah Salihi Simnani, entitled Surud-i na-tamam.

Further works of his include Qit'a-ha-yi adabi; Ashk u sarnivisht (compilation of works of world literature in Persian translation); Tahlil-i falsafi u 'ilmi piramun-i ustura-ha-yi milal; Tahlil-i falsafi u 'ilmi piramun-i usul-i adyan; Rasa'il-i Khayyam; Nawruz-nama (edition and introduction on the life of Khayyam); Risala-yi wujud; Divan-i Salman-i Savaji (edition); Kulliyyat-i Shaykh Sa'di (edition); Ta'rif u tawjih-i insan; Risala'i dar mantiq u falsafa; Ravan-shinasi u akhlaq; Ravish-i tahqiq dar tarikh-i hunar; Ravish-i tahqiq dar bayan-i falsafi-yi ustura-ha; Ravish-i tahqiq dar bayan-i din i akhlaq; Sayr-i makatib-i hunari dar Iran; 'Idalat; Hukumat; Jami'a; 'Aql u ishraq; Karnama-yi shi'r-i mu'asir-i parsi; Muqaddima'i bar Divan-i Hafiz; Makatib-i falsafi dar Asiya; Makatib-i falsafi dar Urupa; Makatib-i hunari dar Urupa; Makatib-i falsafi dar Sharq; Mantiq-i hamasa-yi Mahabharat; Mantiq-i kalam-i Hafiz; Mantiq-i kalam-i Firdawsi; Nasr-i dastani az imruz ta hargiz; Ravish-i tahqiq dar dastur-i zaban u shiva-yi nigarish; Nasr-i intiqadi-yi kitabi ba nam-i Tirana; Ma'jmu'a-yi maqalat, Nama-ha u naqd u barrasi-yi asar-i Sana'i.

Sukhanwaran-i nami-yi mu'asir-i Iran (1, 417); Farhang-i sha'iran-i zaban-i Parsi az aghaz ta imruz (1, 73-74).