Sirous Parham Information

Sirus Parham (born January 23, 1929 – died September 15, 2025) was a prominent Iranian researcher, translator, writer, editor, literary critic, art historian, and carpet expert, known by the pseudonyms “Mitra,” “Dr. Mitra,” and “Sairos Bram.” A pioneer in establishing the National Archives of Iran, he was also a trailblazer in literary criticism, editing, and the study of Persian carpets and tribal handicrafts. Parham is recognized as one of the first to introduce Western-style literary criticism to Iran and for translating Western poetry into Persian.

Life and Education

Sirus Parham was born on January 23, 1929, in Tehran. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1951 from the University of Tehran and a doctorate in political science in 1954 from the University of California, Berkeley. These academic foundations supported his extensive work in literary criticism, art history, and archival management.

Professional Career

Parham began his career in 1957 as a writer for *Tehran Journal* at the Ettela’at Institute. An article he wrote about the stagnant archival conditions at the Ministry of Finance caught the attention of a UNESCO representative named Farmer, who was tasked with establishing Iran’s central archive. This led to a collaboration on several projects under Farmer’s supervision and ultimately the founding of the National Archives of Iran in 1970, where Parham served as director until 1980. After retiring, he worked as an editor at the Organization for the Publication and Education of the Islamic Revolution. He was the first editor at Franklin Publications (now known as Elm o Farhang) and a co-founder of the Iranian Editors’ Guild, established on October 30, 2016, alongside Mehdi Ghanooti and Mahnaz Moghaddasi.

Literary and Artistic Contributions

Parham was a pioneer in Western-style literary criticism in Iran. His book *Realism and Anti-Realism in Literature* (1955), which sold out within two months, along with Reza Seyed Hosseini’s *Literary Schools*, became seminal references for Iranian writers. Described by Mohammad Shams Langrudi as the most active literary critic of the 1950s, a Marxist critic, and the “most active socially engaged literary critic” of that decade, Parham’s work drew a firm line between realistic and non-realistic art, though some critiques noted this as overly rigid. He also translated Western poetry, including selections of Walt Whitman’s works such as *Selected Poems of Walt Whitman* and *I Sing the Body Electric*.

In art history, he served as the chief editor for the 15-volume *Survey of Persian Art* by Arthur Upham Pope and Phyllis Ackerman, published by Elm o Farhang between 2003 and 2011. Parham was also a leading carpet scholar, authoring works like *Tribal and Rural Handicrafts of Fars* and *Masterpieces of Persian Carpet Weaving*, which are used as textbooks and references in the field. He served on the board of the Iran Carpet Museum for a time.

Journalistic Activities

Parham contributed to various publications, including *Khoshe* (a journal for avant-garde poets), *Jang-e Sadaf* (affiliated with the Tudeh Party), and *Anjoman-e Ketab*. Under the pseudonym “Sairos Bram,” he wrote a series of articles on the Iranian Revolution for *Ettela’at* newspaper, later compiled into the book *The Iranian Revolution and the Foundations of Imam Khomeini’s Leadership*, published by Amir Kabir in 1978.

Bibliography (Selected)

– *Realism and Anti-Realism in Literature*, Nil Publications, 1955, 1957, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1981, 1983, 2015 (8th edition, Agaah)

– *Books That Changed the World* (editor), Franklin, 1957, 1978, 2003, 2011

– *The Iranian Revolution and the Foundations of Imam Khomeini’s Leadership*, Amir Kabir Publications, 1978

– *Tribal and Rural Handicrafts of Fars* (with Siawash Azadi), two volumes, Amir Kabir Publications, Vol. 1 1985, Vol. 2 1992

– *Masterpieces of Persian Carpet Weaving*, Library of the Center for Documents and the Great Islamic Encyclopedia, 1991

– *Survey of Persian Art* (translation project supervisor and chief editor), Elm o Farhang, 2003–2011

– *Selected Poems of Walt Whitman* (translation), Morvarid, 2000

– *I Sing the Body Electric* (translation), Morvarid, 2014

– *In Tune with the Times*, Elm o Farhang, 2020