This is why, for instance, Darius explains that his Zoroastrian relatives in Iran can no longer practice “sky burials,” as this type of burial was banned after the Islamic revolution in 1979. While abuse against Bahá’ís has been widely condemned by the United Nations, the European Union, and the U.S., the fact that Iran’s government is an Islamic theocracy means that there’s no religious freedom in the country. The Iranian government has also systematically denied Bahá’í children education, which is why Sohrab is worried about achieving his dreams of becoming an architect or engineer. While Iran’s constitution stipulates protections for Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian Iranians, leaving out the Bahá’í faith (which is the largest religious group after Muslims in the country) means that it essentially doesn’t exist in a political or legal sense-and as Sohrab explains, this means that Bahá’ís are often killed or imprisoned for no reason. Through Sohrab, Darius learns some about Bahá’í persecution in Iran. While Oregon is in no way a hot spot for Iranian immigrants, between 10,000 and 15,000 Iranians live in the Portland Metro area, where Darius and his family live. Several aspects from Darius are based on Khorram’s personal experiences: he was raised Bahá’í, like Sohrab in the novel (though Khorram identifies as an atheist), his family is Iranian, and though it’s not made explicit until Darius the Great Deserves Better, Darius is, like Khorram, queer.ĭarius touches on a number of social issues in both Iran and the United States.
Khorram continued Darius’s story in Darius the Great Deserves Better, and he’s also written several other novels for young adults. Morris Award for Best Debut Author Writing for Teens and was listed as one of the best teen books of 2018 by Buzzfeed, the New York Public Library, Time, and BookBub. Darius the Great is Not Okay, published in 2018, was Khorram’s first novel, and it was published to great acclaim-it’s been awarded YALSA’s William C.
At Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Khorram studied design and technical theater he then worked for several years in event production. In high school, he was an avid participant in school theater productions, and he also took several afterschool writing classes. Khorram was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri.
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