انجمن قلم ايران

Iranian PEN Center.

Iranian PEN Center was established in 1957 as a branch of International PEN in Iran. This society as a symbol of gathering free thoughts of writers and poets in different countries, was established four years after Mordaad 28, 1332/August 19, 1953 American-British coup dʹetat in Iran. It was at the time that Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Iranian monarch, after returning to the throne and passing political tensions, had shown his monarchy as a dictatorship and the only thing that he was not concerned about were freedom of speech & pen and supporting the rights of writers. This article tries to answer the question of how a branch of International Pen was established in a country where a despotic monarchy was ruling, and why Zeyn-ul-ʹaabedin Rahnamaa who was among the 1st Pahlavi past master journalists and effective in changing the monarchy from Qadjars to Pahlavis and a courtier, became the head of such a society in Iran?