Leonardo Alishan
Leonardo Paul Alishan (1951–2005) was an Armenian-Iranian writer, scholar, and translator. He was a professor of Persian and Comparative Literature at the University of Utah from 1978-1997. His published works include three collections of poetry, a book of short stories, and many scholarly articles.
Also recorded as Leonardo Paul Alishan
Leonardo Alishan
- Born
- 1951 · Tehran.
- Died
- 2005
- Nationality
- Iran
- Occupation
- poet · translator · academic staff
- Education
- University of Texas at Austin · Shahid Beheshti University
- Languages
- Persian
In this article
Biography
His translations included works by Nima Yushij, Mehdi Akhavan-Sales, Jalal Al-e Ahmad, and Ahmad Shamlu who dedicated one of his poems to Alishan. He was a member of the Armenian Catholic Church
Leonardo ("Nardo") Alishan was born to Michael Alishan and Annette Nazloomian in Tehran, Iran, on March 4, 1951. A descendant of the Armenian writer Ghevont Alishan (1820–1901), he developed an interest in literature at an early age. He earned a BA in English Language and Literature from Iran National University in 1973 after which, he immigrated to the United States. He then earned a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Texas at Austin in 1978. He moved to Utah and joined the University of Utah's Middle Eastern Studies department in the same year. He married Neli Assadourian on July 19, 1974. They had three children, Michael, Ara, and Eileen, and were divorced in 1993. He died in a house fire in Salt Lake City, Utah on January 8, 2005.
Short stories
• Free Fall: Collected Short Stories, Mazda Publishers, 2010.
Licensing
Text attribution
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Leonardo Alishan, revision 1370264063 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Poetry collections
• Dancing Barefoot on Broken Glass, Ashod Press, 1991. • Through a Dewdrop, Open Letter Press, 2000. • Dead Man's Shadow: Collected Poems, Blind Owl Press, 2010.
Awards
• Academy of American Poets Award • Christopher Morely Poetry Award • Irving Writing Award • Atlanta Review International Merit Award
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
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Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 28 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
37,700 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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