Ali Abdolrezaei

Ali Abdolrezaei (Persian: علی عبدالرضایی ) was born on 10 April 1969 into a middle class farming and merchant family in the northern city of Langerud, Iran. When he was five, Abdolrezaei’s newborn sister passed away unexpectedly. This overwhelming cogitation during her funeral led to a mini stroke resulting in his loss of speech. After a few months, Abdolrezaei regained speech, but it was newly characterized by a severe stammer. By age of 16 after undergoing speech therapy he fully overcame the impediment.[3]

After finishing high school in Langerude, Abdolrezaei attended the Khajeh Nasir Toosi University in Tehran, where he studied mechanical engineering.[1]

Abdolrezaei's career as a poet began in 1986.[4] Not long after, he was banned from teaching and from public speaking in Iran.[4] In 1996 when the Iranian president Khatami eased censorship, Abdolrezaei's new book "Paris in Renault" was published in Iran.[1][5] It received much attention for its avant-garde views concerning language and postmodernism.[4][6][7] He received many invitations to lecture on poetry, but only accepted those extended by universities. He thus became known as the “University Poet.”[4][6][7] As his ideas gained more traction in Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) heightened its scrutiny and surveillance of Abdolrezaei. Censorship of his writings also intensified. In his books "So Sermon of Society" and "Shinema," Abdolrezaei criticized Khatami and other political reformers. The Iranian government interdicted his writings after the publication of “Shinema” and banned him from teaching and public speaking.[4][6][7]

Abdolrezaei began considering invitations from foreign publishing companies, scholarly societies, and individuals to give lectures and read poetry outside of Iran. He, therefore, left Iran in 2001, first to France, then to Germany and since 2005 taking up residence in England.[4] Once established in England, he began holding poetry workshops, and later from 2014 to 2016 he was elected the chairperson of the United Kingdom’s Exiled Writers Ink.[1]

In 2014, he founded College-e Sher (College of Poetry) for enthusiasts to learn poetry and writing. Around 90% of the over 17,000 students who studied there were from inside Iran and 10% from abroad; they were all connected via Telegram.[7]

In December 2017, when a large group of Iranians who were the victims of the IRI’s embezzlements went onto the street to protest in over 150 cities, the students of College of Sher joined them.[8]

In light of this uprising, Abdolrezaei’s students appealed to him to change the focus of the studies and to campaign against the prevalent corruptions. Thus the focus of his teachings changed from poetry and writing to concentrate mostly on political activism; and when the college gradually grew into more than 100,000 students it changed from being a school into a political party. This newly established party was named Iranarchist Party.[9] Although based on Anarchism doctrine, it also presented its own principles designed to fit the challenges the Iranian people were facing for decades with a totalitarian Islamic regime. Abdolrezaei’s ideas on Anarchism centered on limited government interference, in which the government was to act as the provider of public services to the people.[10]

Ali Abdolrezaei resides in London, England.

Abdolrezaei’s contributions to the intellectual circles began with the 1991 publication of his first book Only Iron-Men Rust In The Rain.[1] Between 1992 and 2001, when Postmodernism attracted more enthusiasts among Persian artists, Abdolrezaei, along with few other poets[11] further popularized the movement.[12]

Twelve volumes of Abdolrezaei’s poetry were published while he lived in Iran; the remainder have been published in exile.[12] In 2013, years after his self-imposed exile and 13 years after the banning of his works in Iran, the government permitted the release of four of Abdolrezaei’s newer books between 2013 and 2014. His books met with high demand and underwent several rounds of publications. Seven months after their release, however, government officials confiscated them at the Tehran Book Fair. The ban on Abdolrezaei’s work has since resumed.[1]

Poetry International notes that Abdolrezaei’s postmodern poems “center on the problematic nature of language, knowledge and subjectivity.”[12]

Abdolrezaei, also called the “Anarchist Poet” is one of 34 international poets whose work was selected by the British Library for its Sound Archives.[1] His poems have been translated into many languages including English, German, French, Turkish, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Croatian and Urdu.[4][13]

Abdolrezaei’s poetry became renowned amongst Iranians in the 1990’s for its artful handling of difficult subjects. Iran’s traumatic political history over the last four decades has been a major, if not primary, theme in much of Iran’s contemporary art; Abdolrezaei’s poetry epitomizes this dynamic.[14]

Abdolrezaei has been described as "one of Iran's most influential poets”.[15] He has also been described as "one of the most serious and contentious poets of the new generation of Persian poetry.”[4] His influence extends even to poets and writers of different genres, and it purportedly motivated a group of young poets to distance themselves from the legacy of modern Persian poetry in order to establish the Persian New Poetry form.[1] The Persian New Poetry movement features colloquial language and modern subject matter, deviating from traditional themes of deep emotion, nature, etc.[12][16]

In politics, Abdolrezaei believes that true democracy never features a “top-down” structure.[10]

Ali Abdolrezaei pursued his strong interest in bottom-up, anti-authority political stances by delving into the study of Anarchism and Eco-Socialism beginning around the year 2000.[17] He began speaking about it at underground gatherings and published multitudinous Anarchist essays, for which the Internet became a primary mode of dissemination.[18][19]

In poetry, Abdolrezaei was interested in Persian poets such as Forough Farrokhzad,[21] Nima Youshij and Ahmad Shamlou; and among non-Iranians he enjoyed the works of Nazim Hikmat, Vladimir Mayakofsky and Arthur Rimbaud. During his postmodernism period he was introduced to John Ashbery.[22][23]

In philosophy Abdolrezaei is influenced by Friedrich Nietzche, Michel Foucault, Marquis de Sade and Gilles Deleuze. Saul Newman’s Post Anarchism theory also influenced Abdolrezaei’s concept of Iranarchism.[23]

• I still write because I’m sorry, AN INTERVIEW WITH ALI ABDOLREZAEI, Poetry International Web. In this interviews Abdolrezaei explains his poetic theory.
• Interview with "The Ofi Press Magazine", Interview through email by Jack Little, UK/Mexico.
• The Poet of Creativity In Exile, Ali Abdolrezaei speaks to Paloma Concierta from where he now lives and writes, in exile, in London.
• Ali Abdolrezaei and Abol Froushan interview, Interviewer: Cathy Aitchison, It was recorded at the Platforma Festival in December 2011 in London.
• Exile isn’t always freedom, World Press Freedom Day special, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 2010

• Fragments: Part 1, Part 2, Poetrymag, Abol Foroushan, 2009
• The Risk of Poetry, Poetry International Web, 2010
• Speaking in the voice of a generation, ALI ABDOLREZAEI’S POETRY, Poetry International Web, 2009

• Sens Public Festival, Paris, France, 2011.[24]
• Platforma Festival, London, UK, 2011.[25]
• Acts of Memory Festival, on human rights subject.[26] Counterpoint, London, UK, 2011.
• Poetes a Paris, Paris, France, 2012.[27]
• The First International Kosovo Poetry Festival, 2015.[28]
• The Writers Conference, Nottingham, UK, 2015. Abdolrezaei recited some of his poems and spoke on censorship.[29]
• Human Rights Poetry Festival. London, UK, 2016.[30]
• The Danger of Words in the Age of Danger Symposium, London,UK, 2017. Abdolrezaei spoke on the subject of censorship and post-censorship.[31]

• In 2013 his book “Mothurt” was selected as the “Book of the Year” in Iran.[32] Over ninety of the best Iranian critics and poets participated in this event.[32]
• In 2014, “Lover Mover” was selected as the second best book of the year in the same competition.[32]

• Iran Almanac: Ali Abdolrezaei
• Poetrymag: "Long Live War", translated by Mansor Pooyan