A Storyteller Transcends Realities to Discover Truth
According to Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) in Shiraz, at the “Literary Sundays of Shiraz” session of the Shahedan-e Qalam Literary and Cultural Association of Shiraz, Fatemeh Pahlevan, a Shirazi storyteller, elaborated on the principles and criteria of story writing.
This contemporary literary critic and storyteller from Shiraz stated that a writer is someone who re-creates the world, adding: A writer, and especially a storyteller, transcends the realities around them to discover the truth.
She said: Successful storytellers create meaning from silence and beauty from suffering; therefore, writing is a form of living and cannot be separated from one’s inner and outer world.
Pahlevan added: Every writer achieves growth and perfection through more practice and perseverance and by reading stories from various storytellers, provided they do not scatter their efforts and focus entirely on their work or the story they are writing.
The Shirazi literary critic stated: Writing is not merely for gaining prominence and fame; rather, alongside this, one must also experience a way of life for acquiring various life skills.
Commending living Shirazi storytellers, including Amin Faghiri, Aboutorab Khosravi, Mohammad Keshavarz, Samad Taheri, Shahriar Mandanipour, Mohammad Reza Al-Ebrahim, Ahmad Akbarpour, Akbar Sahraei, and others, she referred to her mentor’s advice on storytelling, noting: According to Abdolali Dastgheib, “A writer is someone who not only sees the pain of the people but also feels it, and expresses this feeling with honesty and awareness, manifesting it in their work and writing.”
This writer of crime stories in Shiraz also said: “Writing means hearing the echo of humanity within oneself!” Dastgheib’s statement implies that if there is no research in our writings, or if the writer lacks faith or belief in their own writing, their work will not be considered significant.
The creator of published fictional works including “Coup,” “Maryam,” “The Condemned,” “Hiva,” “Love on Time,” etc., further clarified: A writer must truly live with their writings and books. In other words, words must circulate within the writer’s being. The late Rasoul Parvizi, a renowned storyteller originally from Bushehr and residing in Shiraz, said: “Every story is, in fact, a piece of my life that has escaped my grasp and settled on paper.” Sidney Sheldon, the famous Western novelist, also believed: “I don’t write to become famous; I write to survive, and if I don’t write, I die.”
If a Writer Loses Words, They Lose Themselves
Fatemeh Pahlevan stated: To live without words means to see but be unable to speak. If a writer loses words, they lose themselves, because for writers, words are not merely tools but their second breath.
The author of the story collections “Return” and “From the Embrace of Light” emphasized: Subject-oriented writers and novelists, especially in the fields of psychological and social novels, must have extensive studies on their chosen topics and a broad vocabulary, particularly specialized terms related to their stories, so that they can craft beautiful phrases by playing with numerous words and build their stories with those beautiful phrases.
The Shirazi free verse poet finally stressed: Respecting the pen and writings of others is respecting yourself, and a writer should not wait for a miracle to happen; rather, they must strive to create their own literary miracle and seek to discover truth and beauty in their own writings. They should have heartfelt belief and certainty in everything they write, show respect for their audience and their preferred tastes, and write from the heart and according to their desires and interests to be successful.
Hamidreza Zangi, a Shirazi storyteller and creator of two fictional works (novels) “Avash” and “Rande Shodeh,” also spoke about selecting themes and genres for stories and provided examples of fictional genres from Western and Iranian writers. Afterwards, poets recited their poems, and attendees posed various questions to Fatemeh Pahlevan, the Shirazi storyteller.
Mohyeddin Arsanjani, a cultural activist from Shiraz, also emphasized the importance of addressing the significant issue of Shiraz’s storytelling tradition and the lives and times of Shirazi storytellers.
Fatemeh Pahlevan, born in Shiraz in 1961, is the author of forty published fictional books and has eight story collections ready for publication and currently in print.
According to IBNA; the weekly “Literary Sundays of Shiraz” sessions are held every week from 4:30 PM to 7 PM, featuring a presence and lecture by a literary, cultural, or artistic personality, with the participation of cultural, literary, and artistic figures from Shiraz and Fars, aiming to promote the Persian language and literature, explain cultural topics, and present refined artistic activities. Attendance at these public organization’s programs is free and open to all.
