Cyrus Parham (1930–2025): Iranian Literary Critic, Art Expert, and Carpet Scholar Passes Away

Cyrus Parham, also known by his pen name Mitra, was born on January 23, 1930, in Shiraz, Iran. He was a distinguished translator, editor, literary critic, art historian, and one of the foremost experts on Iranian carpets. Parham was among the pioneers who introduced Western-style literary criticism to Iran.

He earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1951 from the University of Tehran and continued his studies in the United States, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley in 1954. His groundbreaking book Realism and Anti-Realism (1954) quickly became a rare and influential work, standing alongside Reza Seyed-Hosseini’s Literary Schools as one of the first academic references in its field in Iran.

Parham was also one of the founders of the National Archives of Iran, contributing to the preservation of cultural and historical documents. His extensive research and publications on Persian carpets positioned him as a key figure in both art history and textile studies.

According to poet and historian Mohammad Shams Langeroudi, Parham was “the most active literary critic of the 1950s,” a Marxist critic who strongly emphasized realism and placed a sharp divide between realist art and other forms.

Cyrus Parham passed away on September 14, 2025 (24 Shahrivar 1404, Iranian calendar), at the age of 95. His legacy remains deeply rooted in Iranian literature, art criticism, and carpet scholarship.