Passing of Nematollah Mirzadeh (M. Azarm), Iranian Social Poet and Writer
Nematollah Mirzadeh, known by the pen name M. Azarm, a prominent Iranian poet, writer, and former university professor, passed away on Sunday, February 2, 2026.
Nematollah Mirzadeh, known by the pen name M. Azarm, a prominent Iranian poet, writer, and former university professor, passed away on Sunday, February 2, 2026 (13 Bahman 1404), at the age of 87 in Paris. A member of the Iranian Writers’ Association, Mirzadeh is widely regarded by literary scholars as one of Iran’s leading social poets, whose work was deeply shaped by the country’s turbulent political and historical transformations.
Born on March 20, 1939 (1 Esfand 1317) in Mashhad, Mirzadeh came from a family with strong political roots dating back to the Constitutional Revolution. This background profoundly influenced his worldview and literary sensibility. From an early age, he showed exceptional engagement with classical Persian literature and became politically active during the upheavals that followed the 1953 coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.
Mirzadeh began his literary career in journalism while still in high school and later founded literary supplements for several newspapers in Mashhad. His friendship and collaboration with Mohammad-Reza Shafi‘i Kadkani proved formative, leading to the publication of his first major work, Poetry Today in Khorasan (1964). Over the following decades, he published numerous poetry collections and scholarly works, often drawing on classical poetic forms such as the qasida to articulate modern political and social critique, while also writing in modern Persian verse.
His commitment to social and political expression came at a high personal cost. Several of his poetry collections were censored or confiscated, and he was imprisoned multiple times before the 1979 revolution. The publication of his collection Sahouri led to his arrest and imprisonment, and the book circulated clandestinely even after being banned.
Initially supportive of the revolution, Mirzadeh soon became a vocal critic of the emerging Islamic Republic. Within weeks of the revolution’s victory, he broke with the new ruling establishment and became part of the first generation of writers marginalized and persecuted by the post-revolutionary state. His poetry from this period reflects a deepening disillusionment with authoritarianism and the closure of intellectual space.
After repeated threats and a raid on his home, Mirzadeh was forced into exile, leaving Iran via Pakistan and settling in France. His property and personal library in Iran were confiscated. In exile, he remained intensely productive, joining the Iranian Writers’ Association in Exile and publishing a substantial body of work that became central to Persian literature of exile. His collections from this period include In the Fog of Exile, From Poppies and Dew, Sunflower, The Rising Sun, and Between the Horizons of Yesterday and Tomorrow.
Alongside his literary work, Mirzadeh was deeply committed to cultural education. In 2000, he founded the Iran-Kadeh Center for Persian Language and Culture in Paris, where he taught Persian language and literature and mentored younger generations of Iranian writers and students in exile.
Until the final years of his life, Mirzadeh never ceased writing poetry, believing continuous creation to be a moral and historical responsibility. Literary critics emphasize the importance of his body of work in tracing the evolution of Iran’s cultural memory, as his poems document decades of political repression, resistance, hope, and disillusionment.
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) recognizes Mirzadeh’s life and work, which represents the enduring struggle for cultural expression and human rights among Iranians both inside and outside the country. The passing of Nematollah Mirzadeh is mourned by his family, friends, fellow writers, and admirers of Iranian literature around the world. His loss is felt deeply by those who cherish Persian culture and the rich legacy of poetic resistance he helped shape. May his memory be a blessing to his loved ones and to all who find in his poems a reflection of Iran’s complex history and enduring human spirit.