ARMAḠĀN, a monthly literary magazine founded in Tehran in Bahman, 1298 Š./Jan.-Feb., 1919 by Ḥasan Waḥīd Dastgerdī. Dastgerdī was a native of Isfahan, but after taking part in the constitutional movement and spending some time in exile in the Baḵīāri country he gave up politics and moved to Tehran, where he founded two literary societies, the Anǰoman-e Adabī-e Īrān and the Anǰoman-e Ḥakīm Neẓāmī. Armaḡān (Souvenir), as the organ of these societies, became a forum for the leading poets and men of letters of the day, and continued to be published regularly at least until the revolution of 1979. The range of the magazine was very wide, covering not only classical literature, but also history, social affairs, modern science, technology, and medicine. Dastgerdī made a special point of encouraging young unknown writers, though in general the magazine did not depart from the accepted standards of classical literature. Another popular feature was the publication, as supplements, of editions of classical texts, including the Ḵamsa of Neẓāmī, the collected poems of Jalāl-al-dīn Rūmī, Bābā Ṭāher, Awḥadī, and many other important works. From about 1928 onwards Armaḡān began a policy of publishing fiction, for instance, Ḥosayn Masrūr’s Dah nafar qezelbāš. After Dastgerdī’s death in Dey, 1321/Dec.-Jan., 1942-43, the magazine was continued along the same lines by his eldest son M. Waḥīdzāda (Nasīm).
Bibliography:
Y. Āryanpūr, Az Ṣabā tā Nīmā, Tehran, 1351 Š./1972, II, pp. 227-28.
M. Ṣadr Hāšemī, Tārīḵ-eǰarāʾed wa maǰallāt-e Īrān, Isfahan, 1327-32 Š./1948-53, I, pp. 121-36.
(L. P. Elwell-Sutton)
Originally Published: December 15, 1986
Last Updated: August 12, 2011
This article is available in print.
Vol. II, Fasc. 4, pp. 412-413