Houshang Chalangi is perhaps one of the most original poets of our time. His poems are full of profound materials that are ready to be discovered at any given moment.
Born in 1940, Masjed Soleiman, he can be referred to as one of the most innovative Iranian contemporary poets, pretty much liked and respected by many people with different tastes in Persian poetry and literature. We know him better than others because he let others publish his poems in their books and because of his long-standing friendship and partnership with celebrated rhymesters. They are called "Other Poets" and their poems are known as "Other Poems" in Iran. The names are Bijan Elahi, Mahmoud Shojaei, Bahram Ardebili, Parviz Eslampour, Firouz Naji, Houshang Azadivar, and Hamid Erfan, among others.
With a cadre of other experts, Chalangi worked on the Dehkhoda Dictionary for a couple of months. It is the largest comprehensive Persian dictionary ever published, comprising 16 volumes. The complete work is an ongoing effort that entails over forty-five years of efforts by Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda and other experts. After that, Chalangi was introduced to Najaf Daryabandari, the managing director of Franklyn Print House.
Tell us about the linguistics of your poetry.
If you take poetry earnestly, you come to create your own style, your own language. If you know the craft, and if you take your job seriously, you gradually come to create your own style, your own language. It is subliminal, indeed a subconscious effort.
Poet, writer, and journalist Ahmad Shamlu (December 12, 1925 – July 23, 2000) published some of your poems in his "Khousheh" magazine. How did it happen?
He was arguably the most influential poet of modern Iran. His initial poetry was influenced by and in the tradition of Nima Youshij (November 12, 1895 – January 6, 1960). It was in 1976 when I left Khouzestan to live in Tehran. I came to know Houshang Azadivar and Bahram Azimi. I enjoy Bijan Elahi’s works as well. They were all working in the league of "New Wave" Persian poetry, and in the footsteps of Nima Youshij. Things began to take off with the poems of Ahmadreza Ahmadi. Then Esmaeil Nouri-Ala published his own New Wave poems in a magazine called "Jozveh She’r" or Poem Handouts.
Shamlu was not that much into the "Other Poem" trend. He, however, always admired you. What was it that made him publish your works in his magazine?
Perhaps they had a strong social theme. The same couldn’t be said about the New Wave poetries. New Wave poems were all about individualism and the look into things through the looking glass of individuality. Ahmadreza Ahmadi’s poems were all like that. Later, New Wave poems became a trend and popular, published extensively in different magazines. This included poems by Mohammad Ali Sepanlou.
Shamlu once said Chalangi is the poise and the pride of Persian poetry. Is this true?
I really don’t know. I only know that once he said my poems were as difficult as tribal migration. Apart from that, I haven’t heard anything else.
I had the experience of living in tents and taking part in those tribal migrations. I have been to snow-covered mountains and difficult terrains and for that I am pretty much familiar with nature. This helped me highlight the natural environment in my works in a much more realistic and colorful way than others. This also heartened others to publish them.
Tell us about the influence of myths and legends in your works.
I have a read a lot about myths and legends. This includes Pierre Grimal's "Dictionary of Classical Mythology" translated by Ahmad Behmanesh. The mythical characters in the book captivated me. The concise entries capture the essence of Greek and Roman mythology. Greek literature is full of myths. They all have tragic ends, which is stimulating. I’m not an exception here. This is thought-provoking. Greek mythology is the body of myths and teachings that belong to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins. This is particularly important to me because I also pay great attention to natural environment.
What do think about mysticism and its connection to his poetry or to "Other Poets"?
I’m not that much into mysticism. The only thing I know is that it’s a belief that union with or absorption into the Deity or the absolute, or the spiritual apprehension of knowledge inaccessible to the intellect, may be attained through contemplation and self-surrender. As for its connection to the poems of "Other Poets", I must say these poets have a nostalgic take on things around them. I don’t know whether this tendency, this observation is going to benefit them at all. All I can say is that their elegies are lyrical. Their nostalgic take on things around them is what makes their work so charming.
Mysticism is the spiritual apprehension of knowledge inaccessible to the intellect. We are not ready for that. Instead, we should try and understand the physical world, the accessible world. It is also the belief of many others who pay little or no attention to the intellect. They argue that the intellect comes from the material world and is only formed that way. I am one of them. I say the intellect is not some kind of creature, some being, which can create things. It was created and formed after the material world was formed. This is my take on the intellect. This is my whole philosophy.
Are you writing anything right now and do you plan to publish any new book?
I am not writing any new poems and I have no plans to publish any new book. However, some of my books have been reprinted or will be reprinted in the near future. Three months ago, I published a selection of my poems in collaboration with Morvarid Publishing Company. My book The Lazy Bell was also reprinted during the same period. The decision now is to publish all my poems in a book prior to the upcoming International Book Fair in Tehran. I have made some changes to the previous edition. The book’s cover will have a new design, plus it will include some of the opinions of Ahmad Shamlu about me and my works.
Translation by Bobby Naderi