“The painters will illustrate individually the various aspects of Shahriar’s life in the open-air area of the Cultural and Artistic Center of the Tabriz Petrochemical Complex,” the secretary of the congress, Abasalt Sayyah, told IRNA on Sunday.
The international congress commemorating the centennial of the poet Shahriar’s birth started in Tehran on Saturday and moved to Tabriz on Monday for the last two days of the event.
Poets from all over Iran will be reciting their verses in poetry nights at the poet’s tomb in Tabriz tonight and tomorrow night.
Sayyah said 50 guests from the Azerbaijan Republic, Turkey, Tajikistan, and several other foreign countries have been invited to the congress.
September 18, which is the commemoration day of Shahriar, has also been designated as the National Day of Poetry and Literature in Iran.
Mohammad-Hossein Behjat Tabrizi (1906-1988), whose pen name was Shahriar, composed poems in Persian and Azari. His verses are mainly influenced by Hafez.
Shahriar’s reputation and popularity among the Iranian people is chiefly due to his exceptional ability in composing poems in admiration of Imam Ali (AS) and the Household of the Prophet Muhammad (S).
His most famous poem, “Heidar Babaya Salam”, is among the best contemporary poems in the Azari language.
A very popular poem among the Azari people, “Heidar Babaya Salam” reflects on the rustic and simple village life of the author in bygone years. Shahriar expressed his identity as an Iranian Azarbaijani attached to his homeland, language, and culture in the poem.
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MNA