Mahmud Kianush obituary Negeen Zohari Mahmud Kianush, who has died aged 86, was an Iranian poet, writer and translator who had lived and worked in London since 1974. He played an important role in introducing English literature to Iranians and also translated many modern Iranian poems into English. He was a close friend of my family and translator of my late father’s poetry into English. Mahmud was born in Mashad, in western Iran. His family moved to Tehran when he was 12, and he started writing and publishing poetry and short stories in his early teens. His father, a small businessman, was illiterate but was an eloquent storyteller – Mahmud always said that in this respect he was unable to compete with him.