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✍️ The Translator Who Made the Story His Own

A translator who may have written more than he ever translated, Zabihollah Mansouri was one of the most widely read literary figures in Iran — yet many of the works he 'translated' were wildly embellished, or entirely invented. Amir Ahmadi Arian traces his improbable legacy into a meditati

Danu Poyner

· 1 minute

Zabihollah Mansouri: the translator who made the story his own
yalereview.org

A translator who may have written more than he ever translated, Zabihollah Mansouri was one of the most widely read literary figures in Iran — yet many of the works he 'translated' were wildly embellished, or entirely invented. Amir Ahmadi Arian traces his improbable legacy into a meditation on authorship, truth, and the blurred line between storytelling and deception in a society hungry for knowledge under constraint.

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Danu Poyner

Danu is a writer and founder of Grokkist, a learning community in the deepest sense. His work centres on coherence, curiosity, and helping people make sense of themselves in relation to ideas, experience, and one another.

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