Finding Darvishian’s rare books in children’s and young adult literature was difficult

Mortaza Hatami told the correspondent of Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) in Ilam: After 7 years of research, the book “The Children of Abshooran: A Study of Ali Ashraf Darvishian’s Children’s and Young Adult Works” was published.

He continued: This book is the first independent work dedicated to the study, analysis, and critique of all published books by Ali Ashraf Darvishian, the Kermanshahi author, in the field of children’s and young adult literature, published in 4 chapters and 240 pages.

The author of the minimalist short story collection “Kolbaran-e Naan-o Ranj” added: This book consists of an introduction and 4 chapters: Chapter One (Biography, opinions, and introduction to works, Darvishian from others’ perspectives, etc.), Chapter Two (An overview of children’s and young adult literature: definition, categorization, history, goals, characteristics, etc.), Chapter Three (Study and analysis of works), which is the most important chapter of the book, and finally, a conclusion, and bibliography.

The author of the book “Corona: Smokeless Fire” stated: Ali Ashraf Darvishian is a contemporary cultural, literary, and social figure with multiple areas of expertise. Based on documentation, his continuous actions and efforts in various fields have made him an influential figure, and he is one of the few authors who has consistently worked and strived in diverse fields.

Hatami pointed out the limitations and difficulties in authoring this research work: Most of Ali Ashraf Darvishian’s children’s and young adult books were published before 1978 or in the 1970s, and I faced difficulties finding Darvishian’s rare books in children’s and young adult literature.

Hatami continued: Finding documented and reliable sources for this research was one of the “sweet difficulties” of this academic work, which was both fascinating and tiring. Given that the most important aspect of this work was finding some of Darvishian’s rare books, unfortunately, due to the social conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not possible to travel to Tehran and visit the National Library or bookstores on Enghelab Street. However, fortunately, most of the sources were available in my personal library, except for a few which I managed to find and purchase from various websites.

The author of “Sweet Salt” stated: With the spread of Corona, it was not possible to travel to Karaj to meet Darvishian’s family in person. If this meeting had taken place, it would have been possible to have a face-to-face conversation with his family members and obtain other sources and documents, but unfortunately, for various reasons, such a meeting did not materialize. Nevertheless, this book was completed with all its ups and downs and difficulties.

He said: The book “The Children of Abshooran” addresses the ideological dimensions and activities of Darvishian from social, cultural, literary, political, and media perspectives. Therefore, this book, as an independent work focused on the critique, review, and analysis of Ali Ashraf Darvishian’s children’s and young adult books, can be used by researchers and scholars.

Aron Publishing has recently printed and published the book “The Children of Abshooran” in 240 pages for 320,000 Tomans.