Rakhshandeh (Parvin) E’tesami was born in 1907 in Tabriz. Her family moved to Tehran, when she was still a six-year-old child.
Parvin’s father was considered both poet and translator; so, his presence in political and literature circles paved the way for her to get acquainted with great poets like Ali Akbar Dehkhoda and Malek osh-Sho'ara Bahar.
She was taught Persian language by Bahar and Dehkhoda, and her father taught little Parvin Arabic and English languages; then, she studied at Iran Bethel School (an American Presbyterian missionary organization for girls).
According to literature researcher Mahnaz Bahman, Parvin composed her first poetry at the age of seven, and some of her most beautiful poems date back to her teenagerhood.
Bahman added that Yousof E’tesami translated nice sentences from foreign language books (English, French, Turkish and Arabic) into Persian and promoted Parvin to turn them into poems.
In 1934, Parvin was married to a cousin of her father Fazlollah E’tesami and they moved to the city of Kermanshah; however, the marriage only lasted 10 weeks and they separated because of differences; then, she returned to Tehran.
After the divorce, her father showed his consent to publishing her poems; so, Parvin E’tesami’s first poetry collection was published in 1935.
The poet asked by the then Iranian monarch to teach queen and crown prince, but Parvin refused, because she opined that her presence in king’s palace was contrary to her strong belief on standing against tyranny.
Parvin E’tesami died on April 5, 1941. Her house became an Iranian national heritage site on October 19, 2006.
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