Iran has held an international congress and national ceremonies
to commemorate the country’s prominent contemporary poet,
Shahriar. The international congress kicked off in Tehran on
September 17, 2012 to mark the National Persian Poetry and
Literature Day as well as the National Shahriar Day. Seyyed
Mohammad Hossein Behjat-Tabrizi (1906-1988), known by his pen
name Shahriar, was born in Tabriz and is best known for his
straightforward language and easy-to-understand poems. 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 Khal