Harm to the Family's Position Leads to Social Rupture

Mohammad Mirkiani said: Many psychologists and sociologists around the world have emphasized the importance of the family and believe that damage to its position can lead to social rupture and widespread harm. In both books, 'Amu Rostam' and 'Dayi Sohrab', the family holds a respected place and its boundaries are clearly drawn. I have tried to let the reader, while enjoying the story, understand these boundaries and...

Iran's Sefir Arjan Child and Adolescent Service (Safir Arjan) - Sayeh Breen: Re-creating the capacities of ancient literature in the form of modern stories is one of the ways to connect the new generation with Iran's literary and cultural heritage. The path followed by Mohammad Mirkiani, author of children's and adolescent literature, in the books "Uncle Rostam" and "Uncle Sohrab". Inspired by the characters of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh and using the method of creating examples, he has brought these ancient heroes to today's fictional world and along with that, by drawing the atmosphere of old Tehran and narrating family adventures, he has presented a picture of life, human relationships and customs of past generations.

In these two books, daily life and family relationships are a platform for the formation of humorous and readable adventures; Adventures that, in addition to entertaining the audience, also deal with concepts such as the position of the family, social values, and the complexities of human relationships. Mirkiani believes that the attractiveness of the story, fluent language and avoiding direct advice are important factors in communicating with children and teenagers. In the conversation with this author, we talked about how to use the capacities of ancient literature in contemporary fiction writing, the difficulties of communicating with today's teenagers, the role of humor in conveying serious concepts and the importance of family in children's and teenagers' literature. We read the full text of this interview together.

In "Amu Rostam" we are faced with stories that are formed from very simple and everyday events of a family and the relationship between father and son. What was it about this everyday life that appealed to you that you decided to turn it into a series of serialized stories for teenagers?

One of the important points for me was using the capacities of ancient literature, especially Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, to write modern stories. There are different ways to properly use ancient literature; From simple writing to re-creation, rewriting and modeling. In the book "Uncle Rostam" and its next volume, "Daei Sohrab", I have used the method of creating examples. This means that the character traits of Shahnameh's heroes, especially Rostam in "Uncle Rostam", have become character elements suitable for today's stories.

This capacity is less used; While our ancient literature, with its various structures and in the form of legends, stories, narratives, and anecdotes, provides us with many possibilities for contemporary story writing. My aim was that the use of ancient literature should not be limited to classical works. I have paid attention to these capacities in some of my works, such as "There is always a story" and the twenty-volume collection "Treasure of Stories" published by the Center for Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents.

In the book "Uncle Rostam", my main goal, in the first step, was to use the capacities of ancient literature to write a realistic and modern story. Besides this, the atmosphere of the story has been formed with an anthropological view of old Tehran in the 1350s. In general, what I pursue in my works, whether in rewriting ancient literature or realistic stories, is to familiarize the audience with the hidden and multifaceted layers of life. In "Uncle Rostam" the reader gets acquainted with a significant part of the customs, traditions, occupations, clothing, food and different spaces of life of the people of old Tehran.

The atmosphere of "Amu Rostam" is very close to the memories and moods of families of the past decades, especially the sixties; From the old neighborhoods of Tehran to family relationships and types of jokes. How did you try to keep this space attractive and tangible for today's teenagers who have a different experience of life?

My chosen point of view in "Amo Rostam" and "Daei Sohrab" is the first person of the observer. The narrator is a witness to the events; That is, he is not the main character, but he sees and narrates the events. In this kind of perspective, the audience feels that the stories they are reading have really happened to the narrator. This method helps the audience identify with the characters and accompany him with the bitter and sweet events of the story and adds to the charm of the work.

In the production of cultural works, one of the most important issues is for the audience to enjoy reading or seeing the work in the first step and finally be influenced by it. Therefore, it is not just the old time of the story that matters; What is important is the impact of the work and the content that is presented to the audience with a suitable structure.

In the cinema and television series, many works have been produced focusing on the past periods. For example, the TV series "Island Tales" has had many audiences in different parts of the world. In Iran, the series "Hakeitahi Kamal" which is partly based on my works, was well received by the audience.

One of the reasons for the attractiveness of these works is that the narrated space is far from reach for today's audience. He did not experience that era directly and cannot touch it like in his daily life. This distance, along with the special charms of the past, gives a special freshness to the audience's mental space. For this reason, if such works are written correctly, they can have a special and attractive effect on the audience.

In "Uncle Sohrab", an old family grudge, the sudden wealth of the father of the family and his simplicity come together and create strange and humorous adventures. How did you put these elements together so that the story, in addition to being entertaining, also deals with issues such as hatred, greed and family relationships?

In "Uncle Sohrab", an important part of character development is based on Sohrab's characteristics in Shahnameh. The narrator is a teenager who narrates the stories. One day, he accidentally enters a coffee shop and sees a painting in which Sohrab rests his head on Rostam's bed and looks at his father with a sad look. This image is reminiscent of the story of Rostam and Sohrab in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, and it is also reflected in "Daei Sohrab" using the method of making examples.

In the final chapter of the story, the same story and the image of a coffee house come to life in the narrator's mind and he wonders if his uncle has turned into Sohrab. Here, I have used Sohrab's character traits in Shahnameh and recreated them in a modern context. The atmosphere of old Tehran, the presence of people who no longer exist, and the surprising and unpredictability of events have been placed together to form the fictional world of "Uncle Sohrab".

One of the characteristics of both books is the strong presence of family relationships, especially the relationship between father and child and family members with each other. Why did you choose the family as the main axis of these stories and how much do you think that today's youth literature needs to tell the real and complex relationships of families?

Family has a valuable place in my realistic stories; Because I believe that the family is of special importance and the destruction of its structure can lead to social disintegration. For this reason, I pay special attention to the position of the family in my works and consider it a respectable institution.

For me, it doesn't matter in what period the story is narrated or in what format; Whether it is a realistic and modern story, whether it is a fantasy work or a story taken from ancient and popular literature, the family always has a special place. In my works, I try not to distort this position and the characters I create do not question the value and honor of the family.

Many psychologists and sociologists in different parts of the world have emphasized the importance of the family and believe that harming its position can lead to social disruption and extensive damage. In both books "Uncle Rostam" and "Uncle Sohrab", the family has a respectable place and its boundaries are clearly drawn. I have tried to make the audience understand these boundaries while reading the story and while enjoying the narrative, get to know the obvious and hidden values ​​of the family and respect them.

In works such as "Uncle Rostam", seemingly ordinary events are turned into fascinating adventures with humorous language. In your opinion, what is the function of humor in children's and adolescent literature beyond making the audience laugh, and how can the author discuss serious issues with teenagers through humor without chanting?

Humor, unlike satire, is one of the ways of expressing life concepts in a non-serious form. Usually, we all like the events we experience in life, even the difficulties and bitter issues, to be accompanied by humor and put a smile on our faces. Humor can reduce some of the negative energy caused by life's problems and help us face difficult issues more easily.

On the other hand, humor makes it possible to raise very important and serious issues in an indirect format; so that the audience does not take a negative position against them. Many social issues and harms, if expressed directly and in a serious tone to the audience of children, teenagers or adults, may provoke a negative reaction. But when the same issues are raised in the form of humor, the ground is provided for their acceptance and better understanding.

Especially in the works written for children and teenagers, care should be taken that the narrative does not become direct advice and advice. Humor helps the author to present his desired concepts in the heart of the story in a natural and attractive way so that the audience can understand the message and meaning of the work without feeling forced.

"Uncle Rostam" and "Uncle Sohrab" both come out of the lives of ordinary people and family events. In your opinion, to attract teenagers to books today, how close should the story be to their real life and how much can it take them into a different world far from their everyday experiences?

In writing realistic stories, I always pay attention to the fact that the story should be attractive first. In my opinion, one of the most important factors to achieve this goal is the use of fluent, simple, clear and understandable language. Of course, the simplicity of the language does not mean that the content is superficial. Deep, complex and multi-layered concepts can also be conveyed to the audience with simple and clear language.

Along with the appropriate language, the story should have adventures that the audience can follow. When the author advances the events in an attractive and continuous manner using appropriate narrative devices, the reader is motivated to continue the story and wants to know what will happen next.

I see the charm of the story in this feature; That the stories are readable and followable and that the audience can relate to the characters and events. In such a situation, the audience, in addition to enjoying the story, is also influenced by its message, content, and meaning.

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Mohammad Mirkiani said: Many psychologists and sociologists in different parts of the world have emphasized the importance of the family and believe that harming its position can lead to social disintegration and widespread damage. In both books "Uncle Rostam" and "Uncle Sohrab", the family has a respectable place and its boundaries are clearly drawn. I have tried to make the audience understand these boundaries while reading the story and while enjoying the narrative, get to know the obvious and hidden values ​​of the family and respect them.

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