SABERI, Reza 1941-

PERSONAL:

Born 1941, in Iran; naturalized U.S. citizen; son of Mohammad Hosayn (a merchant) and Ommulbanin (a homemaker) Saberi; married Akiko Hayashi (a pathologist), 1971; children: Rezmin (son), Jasper, Roxana. Education: Tabriz University, B.A. (English); Teachers College, Tehran, Iran, B.A. (education); Seton Hall University, M.A.; North Dakota State University, teaching certificate; further graduate study at New York University and Case Western Reserve University. Hobbies and other interests: Outdoor activities (hiking, climbing, swimming), reading.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Fargo, ND. E-mail—saberibooks@aol.com.

CAREER:

Worked as an English teacher in Iran, 1965-73; Berlitz School of Languages, New York, NY, teacher of Persian and translator from Persian into English, 1975-77; high school English teacher in Fargo, ND, and Moorhead, MN, between 1985 and 1992. Worked as realtor, 1976-92; owner and manager of rental properties, 1982-2004. Smithsonian Institution, member. Military service: Iranian armed forces, 1966-67; became lieutenant.

WRITINGS:

The Labyrinth (novel), Exposition Press (New York, NY), 1982.

Splendor of the Light (nonfiction), Winston-Derek Publishers (Nashville, TN), 1991.

Impressions and Expressions (nonfiction), Christopher Lawrence Communications (Fargo, ND), 1992.

(Translator from the Persian) The Poems of Hafez, University Press of America (Lanham, MD), 1995.

(Translator from the Persian) A Thousand Years of Persian Rubáiyát: An Anthology of Quatrains from the Tenth to the Twentieth Century, along with the Original Persian, Ibex Publishers (Bethesda, MD), 2000.

(Translator from the Persian) The Divan of Hafez: A Bilingual Text (poetry), University Press of America (Lanham, MD), 2002.

Insights and Intuitions: Reflections on the Nature of Existence, University Press of America (Lanham, MD), 2003.

Work represented in anthologies. Contributor to periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Reza Saberi told CA: "Writing is not a hobby for me. It is a responsibility. I do not write in order to entertain myself and/or others. I write only when I feel I have something worth sharing with others. Writing is an act of sharing for me: sharing knowledge, wisdom, beauty, love, truth, and joy. Sharing increases the value and intensifies the power of that which is shared. It is also a source of pleasure.

"I consider a writer as a jeweler. His words are his commodity and his readers his customers. I prefer to deal in precious genuine jewels rather than in cheap imitation ones.

"As for the subject of my writings, I must say that it does not fall under any particular category. I have no simple answer to the question of what I write about. My interests in learning are not limited to one or two fields. They are spread over vast areas of human knowledge and art. I believe each person is entitled to as much knowledge and wisdom as she can acquire. We often limit our scope of interest and knowledge through fear of the unknown and ignorance.

"I have shared some of my ideas, thoughts, insights, and intuitions with my readers. I hope that my writings will be of some help in increasing the readers' understanding of the nature of existence. Of course, I do not expect that they will agree with me on all issues. I expect that my books will motivate readers to cogitate and evaluate, and not blindly accept what is given to them by their society and traditions."