Nosrat Rahmani

Nosrat Rahmani (1929 – June 16, 2000) was an Iranian poet and writer. Rahmani was born in the slums of Tehran. He received his college degree from Ministry of PTT. After just a few years of services in the Ministry, Nosrat Rahmani sought employment with the state radio. Subsequently he abandoned government employment for journalism and freelance writing. His poetry is the poetry of the stubborn, humiliated and revolting down-town people in Tehran's slums; he never forgets his concern for the plight of the urban poor. His memoirs entitled, The Man Lost in the Dust (1957), provide an emotional account of the life of an addict. During the 1960s and 1970s, Rahmani was especially popular among the youth. As a whole, his poetry is dramatic in structure and fantastic in effect, often attempting to recapture the past by poeticizing its recollections. He died in Rasht in June 2000 at the age of 71.

Photo: Jaamjoo Collection / IRAN IMAGES