Mandanipour was born in Shiraz in 1956. His first story collection was published in 1989. He has several short story collections and novels. His storytelling technique and style is phenomenal in modern persian literature. Shargh-e Banafsheh (east of violet) is a love story happening in modern Shiraz. The writer skillfully narrates the story from Hafez's spirit point of view. "Hafez" was the famous Persian poet of 14 century who lived in Shiraz.

Story: Shargh-e Banafsheh (East of Violet)
Written by: Shahriar Mandanipour
Narrated by: SAYED (zohrejome)
Time: 79 min
Format: mp3

Amir Arsalan-e Namdar is one of the most famous Persian stories created and narrated by Naser ad-Din Shah's storyteller Mirza Mohammad Ali Naqib ul-Mamalek. However it was Fakhr ud-Doleh the princess who transcribed and preserved this story secretly. The story has been very popular during the last centruy, but it was only in 1961 that Mohammad Dja`far Mahdjoub edited and presented a definitive text, far superior to the simpler versions that were available until then. The story is fabulous in terms of legendary images, the number and variety of charachters. The story has been translated to German but not to any other european languages. The first chapter is presented as a sample this week.

Story: Amir Arsalan-e Namdar
Created by: Mirza Mohammad Ali Naqib ul-Mamalek
Collected by: Fakhr ed-Dowleh
Narrated by: SAYED
Chapter 1: Khajeh No'man's Journey and His Great Benefit
Time: 21 min
Format: MP3

Amou Norouz and Haji Firooz are the two mythical characters that bring Norouz to Aryans around the world. Norouz is the Aryan new year celebrated in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and parts of Turkey, Armenia, Turkemenistan, India and Pakistan.
Amou Norouz story is a very old folk anecdote from centuries ago...

A narration of Sadegh Hedayat's (contemporary Iranian writer) famous short story "Dash Akol" written in 1932.

Story: Dash Akol
Written by: Sadegh Hedayat
Narrated by: SAYED
Time: 33 min
Format: MP3

This is the first story written by Iranian writer Samad Behrangi. Behrangi who was one of the most influential children writers during his short lifespan, adapted "Talkhoon" from an Azeri legend. Although the story is influenced by Behrangi's communist orientation, "Talkhoon" is still a good example of Iranian folk stories.

Story: Talkhoon
Written by: Samad Behrangi
Narrated by: SAYED
Time: 61 min
Format: MP3

This story won the first prize in the 3rd Annual "Sadegh Hedayat Literary Award" (2005). The writer has recently published a collection of short stories named "When you attend your own auction" (vaghti dar haraj-e khodat sherkat mikoni). He seems to be very promising.

Story: Traffic (Oboor-o-Moroor)
By: Amir Tajeddin Riazi
Narated by: Sayed
Time: 27 min
Format: MP3

This is a narration of the first modern short story written in Persian in 1921. "Persian is sweet" was a turning point after a thousand years of Persian literature which introduced a new fiction genre to the Iranian world.

Story: Persian is sweet (Farsi shekar ast.)
Written by: Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh
Narrated by: SAYED
Time: 35 min
File format: MP3

A Persian (Farsi) presentation of the famous "The Little Prince" story.

Story: The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince)
By: Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Translated by: Mohammad Ghazi (uncertain)
Narrated by: Iraj Gorgin
Time: 62 Min
Format: MP3

Thanks for visiting Friday Noon (Zohr-e Jome).

Friday Noon is a Persian podcast - audioblog dedicated to contemporary short stories and storytelling. Every week a selected short story will be podcasted right at Friday Noon. Stories are selected from a wide variety of Persian or non-Persian short stories, folk stories or fables.

For more information please visit our mother Persian site at: http://zohrejome.blogfa.com

Enjoy!