TEHRAN- Javad Mojabi, the prominent Iranian writer, poet, satirist, painter and literary and art critic, passed away on Saturday following a period of illness. he was 87. 

Mojabi was one of the prominent figures of contemporary Iranian literature and art, whose career spanned more than six decades and encompassed literature, visual arts, journalism and art criticism.

Born in 1939, in Qazvin, Mojabi began his literary and artistic activities in the 1960s. He produced more than 50 works in various forms, including poetry, short stories, novels, satire, plays, screenplays and research.

His first book, the poetry collection “A Season for You,” was published in 1965 when he was 25. Mojabi later recalled that the publication of the book served as his formal entry into the literary world of his generation.

Alongside literature, painting remained an important part of his artistic life. He began painting as a child with his brother, Hossein, and later became recognized as one of the pioneering figures in the field of painting criticism and research on visual arts in Iran.

Mojabi pursued his professional career in journalism as well, while continuing to write extensively on literature and contemporary art. His critical and research works on painting and Iranian artists appeared in various publications and books, further establishing his position as a figure active across several branches of the country’s cultural life.

He was also widely known for his contribution to contemporary Iranian satire, which he explored through different literary and artistic forms. His fiction output included works such as “The Lost Garden,” “Naked Narrative,” “In This Weather” and “Speaking While Saying Nothing.”

Mojabi remained artistically active during the final years of his life. In 2026, while he was hospitalized at Iranmehr Hospital, a collection of his paintings titled “White Nights of the Hospital and Me” was put on display, reflecting his continued engagement with painting despite his illness.

Through a career extending over more than six decades, Mojabi became part of a generation of Iranian intellectuals and artists who moved between literature, visual arts, journalism and cultural criticism. His multifaceted body of work left a lasting presence in Iran’s contemporary cultural landscape.

SAB/