The following works are translations I have done of some of Samad Behrangi’s works into English. Behrangi was a teacher in rural Iran back in the 1950s and 1960s. He only had a high school education, as was common in rural Iran back then. His books and stories which he started writing in the late 1960s were well received by the public. His most famous story, The Little Black Fish was published posthumously after he drowned in an “accident” in Aras river in Iran. The work has been translated into multiple languages and many times into English. It continues to be the subject of discussion as it is one of the largest literary works to come out of Iran, despite it being very short and a children’s story.
Behrangi’s works did not sugarcoat any subject and nothing was taboo in his writing. The works usually deal with hardships and harshness of life straight on and in an unadulterated manner. Many concepts in his stories would shudder the casual Western reader, as they make one question the core of their beliefs and their being and wonder if the writer intended to create a dramatic scene to shock the reader, or if the writer truly believed in what he was writing.
From my point of view, a person who has read all of Behrangi’s works many times over, I can assure you that Behrangi was not going for the shock factor, but rather tried to make an effort to bring to light the dire situation of life and education in rural Iran to the reader’s mind. As such, I have made an attempt during my translation to bring the message forward as it was written. These translations are not domesticated to appease the readers or their children. My suggestion to parents would be to read the works before deciding whether they are suitable for your child. I can tell you that, as a privileged child, I read these stories through and through many times and while I failed to grasp their meaning when I was reading them back then, they laid some of the seeds that grew me into who I am today,
