Oral History News – Ordibehesht 1404

(April 21st – May 21st 2025)

Compiled by Iranian Oral History Website
Translated by Kianoush Borzouei

2025-6-3

According to the Iranian Oral History Website, “News of the Month” is a regular feature reviewing updates and developments in both print and digital media concerning the field of oral history. Below is a summary of the noteworthy news from Ordibehesht 2025:

-In the 1980s, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, then President, participated in a comprehensive interview with the Islamic Revolution Document Center, wherein he recounted the oral history of his life. A portion of these recollections has now been published by the Center.

-On Monday, Ordibehesht 1, the head of the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Artistic Sect of announced during the closing ceremony of the Islamic Revolution Art Festival in Yasuj that 55 works in oral history, music, and documentary production have been completed in the province.

-At the third session of the Persian Gulf History Research Programs, a project titled “Black Wind” was unveiled—a curated collection of photographs, documents, and oral testimonies offering, for the first time, a systematic representation of the life and culture of Afro-Iranians in Hormozgan Province.

-The "Oral History Interview Workshop" was held in Rasht from May 10 to 12, organized by the Resistance Literature Unit of the Artistic Sect of the Islamic Republic, and conducted by Seyyedeh Azam Hosseini, author of the acclaimed memoir "Da."

-The second expert roundtable on “Editing in Oral History” convened on Tuesday, Ordibehesht 9, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Document Research Center of the National Library and Archives of Iran, to explore various dimensions of editing oral historical narratives.

-The Director of Literature and Oral History at the General Directorate for the Preservation of Sacred Defense Works in Hamedan introduced the provincial laureates of the Sacred Defense and Resistance Poetry Festival and the "Yousef Literary Award."

-Brigadier General Golali Babaei, a veteran of the Sacred Defense and an established author in this domain, stated at the 13th Thought Forum of the Veterans and Combatants Organization on Sunday, May 14, that “the enlightening jihad of Sacred Defense veterans is in the accurate and timely narration of war history.”

-A workshop on oral history and interviewing was held on Sunday, Ordibehesht 14, at the Office for the Preservation of Sacred Defense Values in Golestan Province.

-A book unveiling ceremony for “The Centenary of Bank Sepah” and “The Oral History of Bank Sepah” was held on Tuesday, Ordibehesht 15, including the attendance of Vice President Dr. Mohammad Reza Aref, Central Bank Governor Dr. Mohammad Reza Farzin, Government Cabinet Secretary Dr. Taqavi-Nejad, and Deputy Minister of Economy Dr. Abbas Moradpour.

 -A critical review session for the book “Calm and Restless”, the oral history of Jahangir Zamani Moghaddam—a veteran of the Sacred Defense—was held on Tuesday, Ordibehesht 15, at the Cultural and Islamic Guidance Department of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad. The book was published by the Provincial Office for the Preservation of Sacred Defense Values.

 -“Soil and Memory,” a memoir-based narrative intertwining diary entries with oral history from the eight-year war, authored by Ahmad Dehghan, was reissued with a new cover and editorial revisions at the Tehran International Book Fair.

-A launch and critical review event for “Soil and Memory” featuring Mohsen Kazemi, Ahmad Dehghan, and Mohammad Hanif took place on Ordibehesht 21 at the Literature Hall of the Tehran Book Fair.

-A review session for “The Lantern That Was No Myth”—published by Soore Mehr—was held on the afternoon of Sunday, Ordibehesht 21, at the booth of the Islamic Revolution Publishers' Association at the Tehran International Book Fair. The session featured author Hamid Hessam and critic Morteza Ghazi.

-The Director of Literature and Oral History in Hamedan announced that 160 book titles are being showcased at the Foundation for the Preservation of Sacred Defense Values booth at the Tehran International Book Fair.

-The unveiling ceremony for the book “From Oral History to Memoir-Writing,” published by Jamkaran, was held on Tuesday, Ordibehesht 22, at the Publishers' Association Pavilion during the Tehran Book Fair.

-On the sidelines of the 36th Tehran International Book Fair, Sadegh Vafaei discussed his latest publication “Becoming a Publisher: The Oral History of the Publishing Industry” in an interview with IRNA Book News Agency.

-Ettelaat Publications introduced a new work titled “Society, University, and Knowledge: An Oral History of the University of Tehran as Recounted by Dr. Mahmoud Nili Ahmadabadi,” compiled by Abbas Qanbari Baghestan, Ahmadreza Khezri, and Hossein Mirzaei, at the 36th Tehran International Book Fair.

-Volumes II and III of “The Path”—an oral history of the Sacred Defense narrated by Mohsen Rezaei—were launched at the 36th Tehran Book Fair, attended by prominent figures such as Brigadier General Ali Fazli, Brigadier General Ramadan Sharif, researcher and documentarian Golali Babaei, Brigadier General Ali Mazinani, and other veterans and scholars of the Sacred Defense domain.

-A specialized panel titled “Documenting Oral History in Perpetuating the Culture of Sacred Defense and Resistance” featuring Hojjat al-Islam Saeed Fakhrazadeh and Gholamreza Azizi was held on Wednesday, Ordibehesht 24, at the Sacred Defense Foundation Hall during the Tehran Book Fair.

-After five years of intensive research and writing, Morteza Sarhangi presented his new book “Qassem” at the Tehran Book Fair, exploring the untold dimensions of the life of Martyr General Qassem Soleimani.

-Mahmoud Karampour Bakhtiari, a researcher and historian specializing in the oral history of the Bakhtiari Tribe, passed away on Ordibehesht 25 at the age of 78.

-A two-day workshop on “Oral History Historiography” was held on Ordibehesht 27–28 at the Office for the Preservation of Sacred Defense Values in Yazd Province.

-A training workshop on “Narrative Writing in Oral History” was held on Ordibehesht 30 in the conference hall of Ilam’s Artistic Sect of the Islamic Republic, featuring Fatemeh Behboudi, author of “Restless” and “Resident of Malek Street.”

-A four-hour intensive session on “Research and Interview Techniques in Oral History” was conducted by Fatemeh Eslamfar, director of the Islamic Cultural Front Studies Office in Bushehr Province, with the participation of enthusiasts in the field.