One Was There and One Was Not There is a collection of short stories by Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh to be published as part of Asemana Classics Series in September 2026.
Language: Persian
ISBN 978-1-997503-65-1
The Asemana Classics series is a publishing initiative by Asemana dedicated to publishing and revisiting enduring classics of Persian literature as well as masterpieces of modern Iranian literature. Through carefully prepared and thoughtfully presented editions, the series seeks to build a bridge between the literary heritage of the past and readers of today, offering new opportunities to engage with some of the most significant works of Persian culture and literature.
As the third title in the Asemana Classics series, One Was There and One Was Not There, Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh’s enduring work, is being published—a collection widely regarded as marking the beginning of the modern Persian short story and establishing Jamalzadeh as one of the founders of modern Iranian narrative prose. First published in Berlin in 1921, the book presents a portrait of Iranian society on the threshold of the transformations of the modern era, combining a critical perspective, biting satire, and a vivid, colloquial language. By abandoning ornate prose and bringing the language of fiction closer to everyday speech, Jamalzadeh opened a new path in Persian literature, one later followed by major writers such as Sadeq Hedayat, Bozorg Alavi, and Sadeq Chubak.
The enduring significance of One Was There and One Was Not There lies not only in its historical pioneering role but also in Jamalzadeh’s ability to bring together humor, social criticism, and storytelling. Despite their differences, the characters in these stories reflect a society caught between tradition and modernity, ideals and reality, justice and injustice. Each generation of readers can recognize in these stories traces of the concerns of its own time and, through Jamalzadeh’s engaging language, intelligent humor, and humane perspective, arrive at a fresh reading of Iranian society and culture.
Today, One Was There and One Was Not There is regarded not only as one of the most important works in the history of modern Iranian literature but also as one of the most influential books in the development of the Persian short story. For Iranian readers living abroad and newer generations of the diaspora, beyond its literary and historical significance, the collection offers a window onto modern Persian language, popular culture, and the social experiences of Iran at the beginning of the twentieth century.
