Iran to hold Shahriar intl. congress - Gayo Lues

The two-day event will open on September 17, marking the National Persian Poetry and Literature Day and the National Shahriar Day.

A total of 120 articles by Iranian scholars and 40 articles by foreign experts have been submitted to the congress so far, Mehr News Agency reported.

Participants will present papers and deliver speeches about the language of Shahriar in his masterpiece Heydar Babaya Salam, his influence on Azeri literature, his use of blank verse and his role in unity among nations.

They will also pay a visit to Khoshkenab, a village near the city of Tabriz where Shahriar was born.

Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Behjat-Tabrizi, known as Shahriar, was born in 1906 and is considered one of the greatest literary figures of contemporary Iran.

Shahriar was the first Iranian to write poetry in Azeri language and his most famous poem Heydar Babaya Salam, known by many as one of the best modern poems in the language, has been adapted into a few plays.

Published in 1954, the poem is about a mountain where the poet spent his childhood and has been translated into more than 30 languages.

Shahriar has written many different forms of verse, including lyrics, quatrains, couplets, odes, and elegies. His works have also been set to music by renowned Iranian musicians such as Rouhollah Khaleqi.

Shahriar was also a talented calligrapher and played the Setar. He passed away in 1988 at the age of 82.

TE/TE