Javad Khavari

Javad Khavari was born in 1967 in Bamyan, a province in central Afghanistan. At the age of four Khavari emigrated to Iran with his family. In 2006 he finished his studies on the Sharia and the basic disciplines of Islamic doctrine.

His first literary work was the short story »Raze Zaman« (tr: Secret of Time) in 1991, which was released two years later by the Iranian publisher Ali Payam in the collection titled »Sange Malamat« (tr: Hardness of Rügen). It was followed by »Poschte Kohe Quaf« (1997; tr: Behind Nowhere), a collection of myths of the Hazara people, to which Khavari himself belongs. Other publications such as »Amsal o Hekmat haye Mardome Hazara« (2001; tr: Proverbs and Customs of the Hazara Tribe), »Do beiti haye Hazaragie« (2003; tr: Folk Songs of the Hazara People), »Ghasse haye Hazarahaye Afghanistan« (2008; tr: History of the Hazara tribe in Afghanistan) and »Gole Sorkhe dele Afgar« (2008; tr: Red Flower, Broken Heart). Khavari’s works reflect the many facets of life of the Hazara, who live as a Shiite minority mainly in central Afghanistan. The barren landscape and the hard life of his people are the setting for his literary creations. The longing for acceptance and recognition for the people of the Hazara is the guideline for his stories. Since 1997 Javad Khavari, one of the founders of the literary magazine »Dore-Dari«, belongs to the Afghan writers that have given Dari, (the version of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan and the country’s official language) its own identity and position in the Persian speaking region. In 2004 he won the Cultural Prize of Afghanistan.

In his short story »Eshqubazi« (tr: Love Story) Khavari broaches the issue of tribal life in Afghanistan as a self-contained system with its own views and prejudices against other tribes. Khavari’s stories are vivid and alive, his commentaries and articles realistic and matter-of-fact. Currently Javad Khavari lives and works in Kabul and is writing a novel.

Amsal o Hekmat haye Mardome Hazara

Erfan

Teheran, 2001

Do beiti haye Hazaragie

Erfan

Teheran, 2003

Ghasse haye Hazarahaye Afghanistan

Nashre Cheshma

Teheran, 2008

Gole Sorkhe dele Afgar

Erfan

Teheran, 2008