Adel Foundation Award
in Modern Persian Literature

Modern Persian literature is a dynamic and evolving field that reflects the complexities of contemporary life. From poetry, fiction, and plays to memoirs and literary essays, it captures the experiences of individuals and communities navigating themes such as gender and sexuality, memory and migration, power and resistance, and questions of identity and belonging. Many of these works are written in Persian but emerge from bilingual, multiethnic, or religiously diverse contexts—reflecting the realities of authors whose lived experiences span multiple languages, cultures, and communities within and beyond Iran. These layered voices enrich Persian literary culture and open space for complex reflection on minority experience, hybridity, and pluralism. Together, they demonstrate that modern Persian literature is not only nationally significant, but also globally resonant.

Mahmoud Adel-Sabzevari

The Adel Foundation Award in Modern Persian Literature was established at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 2025 in honour of Mahmoud Adel-Sabzevari. After growing up as an orphan in poverty, Mahmoud Adel-Sabzevari studied History and Geography in the late 1930s at the University of Tehran. His expertise was wide-ranging and endured throughout his life: he was a renowned author, editor, translator, and teacher in the arts and sciences. At the age of 90, he translated a defining encyclopedic volume of Quranic works into Persian.

Mahmoud Adel-Sabzevari held a significant passion for Persian literature, and the Adel Foundation Award in Modern Persian Literature recognizes and supports outstanding students studying this field. Preference will be given to students who have demonstrated a sustained interest in modern Persian literature through coursework and/or the production of original work—either creative or critical. While UBC’s current curriculum in modern Persian literature is primarily focused on Iran, the Adel Foundation Award embraces the broader Persian literary sphere—including works written in Dari (Afghanistan), Tajik Persian, and across the global Persian-speaking diaspora. Scholars increasingly describe this literary world as a “transregional ecosystem”, shaped by shared histories, migration, and exchange. By supporting this award, you are helping to sustain a field that thrives across languages, borders, and generations. In celebrating literary production wherever Persian circulates—and in whatever forms it takes—the Adel Foundation affirms its commitment to inclusive, boundary-crossing scholarship.

UBC is home to four faculty positions and a lecturer position focusing on Persian Language & Iranian Studies in areas including Modern Persian Literature & Culture, Persian Language & Culture, and Classical Persian Literature & Culture. These strengths allow the university to engage more than 340 students from diverse backgrounds in courses ranging from basic Persian language, to modern Iranian cinema, to the experiences of women as seen through literature, film, and popular culture. In addition, UBC is proud to be home to international students from Iran studying at undergraduate and graduate levels across both campuses. UBC also connects students and faculty to the wider community through the UBC Persian Club and the donor-funded Alireza Ahmadian Lectures in Iranian and Persianate Studies.

We invite you to invest in students, the research and teaching of modern Persian literature, and the legacy of Mahmoud Adel-Sabzevari, by making a present-day gift or a gift in your Will to this important award.