Azar Yazdi: The Father of Children's Literature in Iran.
From ancient legends to modern fables: the life and works of the author who brought the magic of reading back to Iranian children, celebrated today, July 9.
In many parts of the world, children's literature represents the first and fundamental tool for literacy, not only literary but also social and emotional. Through reading or listening to stories, children not only learn to decode and memorize words, but also develop empathy by identifying with characters and situations different from their own, thus exercising their imagination and critical thinking.
If this is true on a global level, in Iran children's literature takes on an even deeper meaning: it represents a indispensable cultural bridge to pass on a millenary identity to new generations, safeguarding a rich oral and written tradition that would otherwise risk being lost. Furthermore, this approach allows children to acquire familiarity and familiarity with religious and moral themes and precepts from a very young age.
In this compound, Mehdi Azar Yazdi He is widely considered the founding father of modern children's literature in Iran. Before his seminal contribution, Persian literature for children was almost nonexistent or limited to rigid school texts; the great medieval classics, in fact, were written in a language too complex, poetic, and inaccessible for the new generations. Born in Yazd, Azar Yazdi received no formal education and began working at a young age as a textile worker, before moving to Tehran and finding employment in a printing press. It was precisely his daily contact with proofs and ancient books that sparked in him a deep passion for reading and, at the same time, the painful realization that Iranian children lacked stories suitable for their age.
The real revolution in children's literature took place in 1956, when Azar Yazdi chose to reinvent the ancient tales of Indian origin from the collection Kalila and Dimna, translating them into a modern, linear and easy-to-understand Persian. From this attempt was born the first volume of his famous narrative series, entitled Good stories for good childrenThe project then expanded to include eight independent volumes, each of which offers a reworking of the most important masterpieces of Middle Eastern and Muslim culture: from the poems of Masnavi from Rumi to the epic of the Shahnameh (The Book of Kings) of Ferdowsi, passing through the Flowers of Saadi and for the episodes of the Quran.
The public reception was extraordinary and immediate, earning the writer major awards in his homeland and an official mention from UNESCO. Azar Yazdi's legacy has redefined children's literature in Iran, transforming it into an artistic excellence esteemed worldwide.
His death in July 2009 was commemorated by the government with the establishment of the National Children's and Young Adult Literature Day, which is celebrated today, 9th JulyThanks to his vision, the field of children's literature is no longer a simple pedagogical tool, but a vibrant cultural landscape that draws on the past to educate new generations.