Persian Poetry

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

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Omar Khayyam (1048-1122) was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who was not known as a poet in his lifetime. These verses lay in obscurity until 1859, when FitzGerald published a free adapation of this Persian poetry.

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Structure and Meaning in Medieval Arabic and Persian Lyric

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This is the first comprehensive and comparative study of compositional and stylistic techniques in medieval Arabic and Persian lyric poetry. It also examines works by the indigenous critics of poetry in both Arabic and Persian.

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From Persia to Napa

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Wine is seen as the natural partner of many great cuisines, but few people associate it with Persian food, one of the world's most sophisticated culinary traditions. The ties, in fact, are age-old.

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A Dozen Red Roses: From 'The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam'

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From "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam", here are some meditations on love via Edward Fitzgerald's translation of the enigmatic Persian poet, read by Bill Wallis....

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Hafez

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An exploration of the Persian poet`s spiritual philosophy, with original translations of his poetry. ? Features extensive insight into the meanings and contexts of the poetry and philosophies of this spiritual teacher. ?

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Persian Poets

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Spiritual meaning can always be gleaned from these passionate poems about worldly love, domestic life, and wine and food. Much of the medieval poetry translated here, including poems by Omar Khayyam and Rumi, is inspired by the Sufi tradition.

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Contemporary Persian Literature

Literature of the late 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.

History

In 19th century, Persian literature experienced a dramatic change and entered a new era. The beginning of this change is exemplified in an incident in the mid-nineteenth century at the court of Nasereddin Shah, where the reform-minded prime minister, Amir Kabir, chastises the poet Habibollah Qa'ani for "lying" in a panegyric qasida in honor of the prime minister. Amir Kabir, of course, saw poetry in general and the type of poetry that had developed during the Qajar period as detrimental to "progress" and "modernization" in the Iranian society, which was in dire need of change. Such extraliterary concerns were expressed increasingly by others, such as Fath-'Ali Akhundzadeh, Mirza Aqa Khan Kermani, and Mirza Malkom Khan, who also addressed a need for a change in Persian poetry in literary terms as well, always, however, linking it to social concerns.

One can not understand the new Persian literary movement without undestanding the intellectual movements among Iranian philosophical circles along with social ones. Given the social and political climate of Persia (Iran) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which led to the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906-1911, the idea of the necessity of a change in Persian poetry in a way that would reflect the realities of a country in transition was gradually becoming widespread and propagated by such notable literary figures as Ali Akbar Dehkhoda and Abolqasem Aref, who challenged the traditional system of Persian poetry in terms of introducing new content as well as experimentation with rhetorical, lexicosemantic, and structural aspects of poetry. While Dehkhoda, for instance, uses a lesser-known traditional form, the mosammat, to elegize the execution of a revolutionary journalist, 'Aref employs the ghazal, "the most central genre within the lyrical tradition" (p. 88), to write his "Payam-e Azadi" (Message of Freedom).

Some researchers argue that, the notion of "sociopolitical ramifications of esthetic changes" led to the idea of poets "as social leaders trying the limits and possibilities of social change.

An important argument in the development of modern Persian literature (and, of course, other aspects of the Iranian society as a whole) has centered around the question of modernization and Westernization and whether or not, in practice, these terms are, in fact, synonymous as used to describe the evolution of Iranian society, and in this case, Persian literature in the course of the past one or two centuries. It can be argued that almost all advocates of modernism in Persian literature, from Akhundzadeh, Kermani, and Malkom Khan to Dehkhoda, Aref, Bahar, and Rafat, among others, to varying degrees, were inspired by developments and changes that had occurred in Western, particularly European, literatures. Still, such inspirations would not mean blindly copying Western models, but in practice, adaptation of aspects of Western literature which were then altered and tailored to fit the needs of the Iranian culture.

For Sadeq Hedayat, who was arguably the most modern of all modern writers, modernity was not just a question of scientific rationality or a pure imitation of European values. An outstanding feature of Hedayat’s modernism is his secular criticism in regard to the Iranian society. Hedayat thus established a critical approach that was almost unique in the period between the two World Wars in Iran. His modern search for truth avoided any romantic glorification of ideology and a more realistic view of the underdeveloped and underprivileged members of the Iranian society. Much of this was carried out by Hedayat in a universal style and tone. This perhaps is the main reason why Hedayat can be considered as a universal writer and not simply as an Iranian writer. His work belongs to what Goethe described as Weltliteratur in the last decade of his life as a reaction to Romantic literary criticism’s breaking through the traditional limits of European literature by re-evaluating the literatures of the Middle Ages and of the Orient. For Goethe world literature was not a hierarchically structured thesaurus, but as an element contemporaneous to him. In a letter to Adolph Friedrich Carl Streckfuss on January 27 1827 he compares his situation to that of a sorcerer’s apprentice with the world literature streaming towards him as if to engulf him. Goethe echoes Herder in stressing that literature is the common property of mankind, and that it emerges in all places and at all times. “National literature does not mean much at present, affirms Goethe in his conversation with Eckermann on 31January 1827, it is time for an era of world literature, and everybody must endeavour to accelerate this epoch” .Erich Auerbach has the same idea in mind when he writes: World literature refers not simply to what is common and human as such, but rather to this as the mutual fertilisation of the manifold. It presupposes the felix culpa of mankind’s division into host of cultures. Edward Said also reminds us of the relevance of views put forward by Goethe and Auerbach: “The main requirement for the kind of philological understanding Auerbach and his predecessors were talking about and tried to practise, notes Said, was one that sympathetically and subjectively entered into the life of a written text as seen from the perspective of its time and its author. Rather than alienation and hostility to another time and a different culture, philology as applied to Weltliteratur involved a profound humanistic spirit deployed with generosity and, if I may use the word, hospitality. Thus the interpreter's mind actively makes a place in it for a foreign "other". And this creative making of a place for works that are otherwise alien and distant is the most important facet of the interpreter's mission.”Ramin Jahanbegloo, "Hedayat and the Experience of Modernity" (external)

Following the pioneering works of Ahmad Kasravi, Sadeq Hedayat and many others, Iranian wave of comparative literature and literary criticism reached a symbolic crest with emergence of literary figures, Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub, Shahrokh Meskoob, Houshang Golshiri and Ebrahim Golestan.

Persian literature in Afghanistan has also experienced a dramatic change during last few decades. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Afghanistan was confronted with economic and social change which also sparked a new approach to literature. In 1911, Mahmud Tarzi, who came back to Afghanistan after years of exile in Turkey and was influential in government circles, started a fortnightly publication named Saraj’ul Akhbar. Saraj was not the first such publication in the country, but in the field of journalism and literature it instigated a new period of change and modernisation. Saraj not only played an important role in journalism; it also gave new impulses to literature as a whole and opened the way for poetry and lyrics to search for new avenues of expression so that personal thoughts took on a more social colour. In the year 1309 (1930 AD), after months of cultural stagnation, a group of writers founded the Herat literary circle. A year later another group calling itself the Kabul Literary Circle was founded in the capital. Both groups published their own regular magazines dedicated to culture and persian literature. But both, especially the Kabul publication, had little success in becoming a venue for modern Persian poetry and writing. In time, the Kabul publication turned into a stronghold for traditional writers and poets, and modernism in Dari literature was pushed to the fringes of social and cultural life. Three of the prominent classical poets in Afghanistan at the time were Ghary Abdullah, Abdul Hagh Beytat and Khalil Ullah Khalili. The first two received the honorary title of Malek ul Shoara (King of Poets), one after the other. Khalili, the third and youngest, felt himself drawn toward the Khorasan style of poetry instead of the usual Hendi style. He was also interested in modern poetry, and wrote on the side a few poems in a more modern style with new aspects of thought and meaning. In 1318, after two poems by Nima Youshij with the names "Gharab" and "Ghaghnus" were published, Khalili also wrote a piece of poetry under the name "Sorude Kuhestan" or "The Song of the Mountain" in the same rhyming pattern as Nima, and sent it to the Kabul Literary Circle. But the traditionalists in Kabul refused to publish the piece in their magazine because it was not written in the old traditional rhyme, and they criticised Khalili for modernising his style of writing poems. Still, very gradually and despite all the efforts of traditionalists new styles did find their way into literature and literary circles. The first book of new poems was published in the year 1336 (1957), and in the year 1341 (1962), a collection of modern Persian poetry was published in Kabul. The first group who wrote poems in the new style consisted of Mahmud Farani, Baregh Shafi’i, Solyman Layegh, Sohail, Ayeneh and a few others. Later, others such as Vasef Bakhtari, Asadullah Habib and Latif Nazemi joined the group. Each had his own share in modernizing Persian poetry in Afghanistan. Other notable figures are Ustad Behtab, Leila Sarahat Roshani, Sayed Elan Bahar and Parwin Pazwak. Poets like Mayakovsky, Yase Nien and Lahouti (an Iranian poet living in exile in Russia) exerted a special influence on the Persian poets in Afghanistan. The influence of Iranians (e.g . Farrokhi Yazdi and Ahmad Shamlou) on modern Afghan prose and poetry, especially in the second half of the twentieth century, must also be taken into consideration.Latif Nazemi "A Look at Persian Literature in Afghanistan" (external)

Prominent Afghan writers like Asef Soltanzadeh, Reza Ebrahimi, Ameneh Mohammadi, and Abbas Jafari grew up in Iran and were under influence of Iranian writers and teachers. Although Afghan authors have not proven themselves in the international arena like Iranian writers have, due to their talent, Persian literature in Afghanistan has a promising future.IRNA news Wednesday January 18, 2006 (external)

The new poetry in Tajikistan is mostly concerned with the way of life of people and is revolutionary. From the 50's until the advent of new poetry in France, Asia and Latin America, the impact on the modernization drive was strong. In 60's Iranian modern poetry and that of Mohammad Iqbal Lahouri made very good impression in Tajik poetry and this period is probably the most rich, prolific and active period for development of themes and forms in Persian poetry in Tajikistan. Some Tajik poets were mere imitators and one smells the traits and scent of foreign poets in their works. Only two or three poets were able to digest the foreign poetry and compose new poetry. In Tajikistan, the format and pictorial image of short stories and novels were taken from Russian and European literature. Some of Tajikistan's prominent names in Persian literature are Golrokhsar Safi Eva , Mo'men Ghena'at and Farzaneh Khojandi.

Novels

Well-known novelists include:

• Simin Daneshvar
• Bozorg Alavi
• Ebrahim Golestan

see also Persian Novel (external)

Satire

• Iraj Mirza
• Ebrahim Nabavi
• Kiumars Saberi Foumani
• Hadi Khorsandi
• Obeid Zakani
• Dehkhoda

Literary criticism

Pioneers of persian literary criticism in 19th century include Mirza Fath `Ali Akhundzade, Mirza Malkom Khan, Mirza `Abd al-Rahim Talebof and Zeyn al-`Abedin Maraghe`i.

Prominent 20th century critics include:

• Allameh Dehkhoda
• Badiozzaman Forouzanfar
• Mohammad Taghi Bahar
• Jalal Homaei
• Mohammad Moin
• Saeed Nafisi
• Parviz Natel-Khanlari
• Sadeq Hedayat
• Ahmad Kasravi.
• Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub
• Shahrokh Meskoob

Said Nafisi analyzed and edited several literary works. He is well-known for his works on Rudaki and also Sufi literature. Parviz Natel-Khanlari and Gholamhossein Yousefi who belong to Nafisi's generation were also involved in modern literature and critical writings. Natel Khanlari is distinguished for the simplicity of his style. He did not follow the traditionalists nor did he advocate the new. Indeed, his approach accommodated the entire spectrum of creativity and expression in Persian literature. In his short life, Ahmad Kasravi, who was an experienced authority on literature attacked the writers and poets whose works served despotism.

Contemporary Persian literary criticism reached its maturity after Sadeq Hedayat, Ebrahim Golestan, Houshang Golshiri, Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub and Shahrokh Meskoob. Among these figures Zarrinkoub held academic positions and had reputation not only among intellectuals but also in academia. Beside his significant contrubution to the maturity of Persian language and literature, Zarrinkoob boosted comparative literature and Persian literary criticism.AH Zarrinkoub: A biography (external) Zarrinkoub's Serr e Ney is a critical and comparative analysis of Rumi's Masnavi. In turn, Shahrokh Meskoob worked on Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh on the basis of the principles of modern literary criticism.

Mohammad Taghi Bahar's main contribution to this field is his book called Sabk Shenasi(Stylistics). It is a pioneering work in the practice of Persian literary historiography and the emergence and development of Persian literature as a distinct institution in the early part of the twentieth century. It contends that the exemplary status of Sabk-shinasi rests on the recognition of its disciplinary or institutional achievements. It further contends that, rather than a text on Persian ‘stylistics’, Sabk-shinasi is a vast history of Persian literary prose, and, as such, is a significant intervention in Persian literary historiography.taylorandfrancis.metapress.com (external)

Jalal Homaei, Badiozzaman Forouzanfar and his student, Mohammad Reza Shafiei-Kadkani are other notale figures who have edited a number of prominent literary works

Critical analysis of Jami's works has been carried out by Ala Khan Afsahzad. His classic book won Iran's Year2000 Best book prize.همایش بزرگداشت افصح زاد at BBC Persian (external)

URL accessed on 2006-03-31

Persian short stories

Historically, the modern Persian short story has undergone three stages of development: a formative period, a period of consolidation and growth, and a period of diversity.Houra Yavari, "The Persian Short Story" (external)

The formative period

The formative period was ushered in by Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh's collection Yak-i Bud Yak-i Nabud(1921; tr. H. Moayyad and P. Sprachman as Once Upon a Time, New York, 1985), and gained momentum with the early short stories of Sadeq Hedayat (1903-51). Jamalzadeh (1895-1997) is usually considered as the first writer of modem short stories in Persian. His stories focus on plot and action rather than on mood or character development, and in that respect are reminiscent of the works of Guy de Maupassam and O. Henry.

In contrast, Sadeq Hedayat, the writer who introduced modernism to Persian literature, brought about a fundamental change in Persian fiction. In addition to his longer stories, Bgf-e kur (his masterpiece; see above ii.) and Haji Aqa (1945), he wrote collections of short stories including Seh Ghatra Khun (Three Drops of Blood, 1932; tr. into French by G. Lazard as Trois gouuttes de sang, Paris 1996) and Zenda be Gur (Buried Alive, 1930). His stories were written in a simple and lucid language, but he employed a variety of approaches, from realism and naturalism to surrealistic fantasy, breaking new ground and introducing a whole range of literary models and presenting new possibilities for the further development of the genre. He experimented with disrupted chronology"and non-linear or circular plots, applying these techniques to both his realistic and surrealist writings.

Unlike Hedayat, who focused on the psychological complexity and latent vulnerabilities of the individual, Bozorg Alavi depicts ideologically motivated personages defying oppression and social injustice. Such characters, seldom portrayed before in Persian fiction, are Alavi's main contribution to the thematic range of the modem Persian short story. This commitment to social issues is emulated by Fereydun Tonokaboni (b. 1937), Mahmud Dawlatabadi (b. 1940), Samad Behrangi (q.v.; 1939-68), and other writers of the left in the next generation.

Sadeq Chubak was one of the first authors to break the taboo. Following the example of William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Erskine Caldwell, and Ernest Hemingway, his blunt approach appears in the early short story collections Khayma Shab-bazi (The Puppet Show, 1945) and Antar-i ke Luti-ash Morda Bud (1949; tr. P. Avery as "The Baboon Whose Buffoon was Dead," New World Writing 11, 1957, pp. 14-24), Later stories like Zir-e Cheragh-e Ghermez, Pirahan-e Zereski, and Chera Darya Tufani Shoda Bud describe the naked bestiality and moral degradation of the personages with no trace of squeamishness. His short stories mirror rotting society, populated by the crashed and the defeated. Chubak picks marginal characters--vagrants, pigeon-racers, corpse-washers, prostitutes, and opium addicts-who rarely appear in the fiction of his predecessors, and whom he portrays with vividness and force. His readers come face to face with grim realities and incidents which they have often witnessed for themselves in everyday life but shunned out of their mind through complacency.

A distinctive trait of post-war Persian fiction, in all the three stages of development, is the attention devoted to narrative styles and techniques, In matters of style two main trends prevail: Some authors, like Chubak and Al-e Ahmad, follow colloquial speech patterns; others, such as Ebrahim Golestan (b. 1922) and Mohammad Etemadzadeh "Behazin" (b, 1915), have adopted a more literary and lyrical tone. Although the work of all four writers stretch into later periods, some brief remarks about their differing techniques, which delineated future paths, need mentioning at the outset. Golestan experimented with different narrative styles, and it was only in two late collections of stories, Juy o Divar o Teshna (The Stream and the Wall and the Parched, 1967) and Madd o Meh (The Tide and the Mist, 1969) that he managed to find a style and voice of his own. His poetic language draws inspiration both from syntactical forms of classical Persian prose, and the experiments of modernist writers, most notably Gertrude Stein. The influence of modernism is evident also in the structure of Golestan's short stories, where the traditional linear plot-line is abandoned in favor of disrupted chronology and free association of ideas. Contrary to most other modern Persian authors, Golestan pays little heed to the state of the poor and the dispossessed. Instead, his short stories are devoted to the world of Persian intellectuals, their concerns, anxieties and private obsessions. His short stories resemble well-made decorative objets d'art, pleasing perhaps to the cognoscenti but leaving the majority of readers unmoved. Golestan's brand of modernism has influenced the later gcneration of writers like Bahman Forsi (b. 1933) and Hooshang Golshiri (b. 1937). Although the stories of Behazin show similar indebtedness to classical Persian models, he does not follow Golestan's modernist experiments with syntax. Behazin is an author whose stories, delivered in a lucid literary style, express his leftist social beliefs. In some of his later works like the short story collection Mohra-ye Mar (The Snake Charm. 1955), he turns to literary allegory, imbuing ancient tales with a new message, a technique which allows him to express his critical views obliquely. Behazin's predecessors in the sub-genre of the allegorical tale were Hedayat (in Ab-e Zendegi, 1931) and Chubak ("Esa'a-ye Adab" in the collection Khayma-Shab-Bazi).

Period of Growth and Development

This second period in the development of the modern Persian short story began with the coup of 28 Mordad 1332/19 August 1953 (see COUP D'ETAT of 1332 S,/ 1953), and ended with the revolution of 1979.

Jalal Al-e Ahmad is among the proponents of new political and cultural ideas whose influence and impact straddle both the first and the second periods in the history of modern Persian fiction. His writings show an awareness of the works of Franz Fanon and the new generation of third-world writers concerned with the problems of cultural domination by colonial powers. Al-e Ahmad, Behazin, Tonekaboni, and Behrangi can all be described as engage writers because most of their stories are built around a central ideological tenet or "thesis" and illustrate the authors' political views and leanings.

Another notable author from this period is Simin Daneshvar (b. 1921), the first woman writer of note in contemporary Persian literature. Her reputation rests largely on her popular navel Savusun (1969). Simin Daneshvar's short stories deserve mention because they focus on the plight and social exclusion of women in Persian society and address topical issues from a woman's point of view.

Gholam Hossein Saedi' s (1935-85) short stories, which he called ghessa, often transcend the boundaries of realism and attain a symbolic significance. His allegorical stories, which occasionally resemble folkloric tales and fables, are inhabited by displaced persons, trapped in dead ends (Sepanlu, p. 117). They emphasize the anxieties and the psychological perturbarions of his deeply troubled personages. Sadeghi (1936-84) was yet another author who focused on the anxieties and secret mental agonies of his personages.

Hooshang Golshiri (b. 1937) and Asghar Elahi (b. 1944) both created memorable psychological portraits through interim monologue and stream of consciousness techniques. Golshiri the author of the long story Shazda Ehtejab (Prince Ehtejab, 1968), is particularly noted for his successful experiments with extended interior monologues. A bold, innovative writer eager to explore modern methods and styles, Golshiri uses stream of consciousness narrative to reassess familiar theories and events.

Period of diversity

Post-revolutionary fiction, including the short story, is marked by dynamic experimentation with techniques of narration, choice of plot, imagery, and structure. In line with recent tendencies in most modern literatures, modern Persian fiction expresses doubts, uncertainty. anxiety, tension, paradox, and dilemmas; it tells of beginnings and not of ends. Almost a century old, modern Persian fiction has remained receptive to external influences and follows trends and styles as they appear elsewhere, stream of consciousness techniques and magical realism being cases in point. From a fictionalized remembrance of the nation's idealized past, to a portrayal of imbalances and injustices, and to the depiction of the hardships of war and revolution, Persian fiction has remained a vehicle for change as well as testament to its painful process.

Poetry

Of the hundreds of contemporary Persian poets (classical and modern) notable figures include: Mehdi Akhavan-Sales, Simin Behbahani, Forough Farrokhzad, Bijan Jalali, Siavash Kasraie, Fereydoon Moshiri, Nader Naderpour, Sohrab Sepehri, Mohammad Reza Shafiei-Kadkani, Ahmad Shamlou, Nima Yushij, Manouchehr Atashi, Houshang Ebtehaj, Mirzadeh Eshghi (classical), Mohammad Taghi Bahar(classical), Aref (classical), Parvin Etesami (classical), and Shahriar (classical) out of hundreds of poets.

Classical Persian poetry in Modern time

A few notable classical poets arose since 19th century, among which Mohammad Taghi Bahar and Parvin Etesami have been most celebrated. Mohammad Taghi Bahar had the title "King of poets" and had a significant role in the emergence and development of Persian literature as a distinct institution in the early part of the twentieth century.Wali Ahmadi ''"The institution of Persian literature and the genealogy of Bahar's stylistics"'' (external) The theme of his peoms was social and political situation of Iran.

Parvin Etesami may be called the greatest Persian poetess writing in the classical style. One of her remarkable series, called Mast va Hoshyar (Drunk but Aware) , won admirations from many of those involved in romantic poetry.Parvin Etesami's biography at IRIB.com (external)

Modern Persian poetry

Nima Yushij is considered, quite rightly, the father of modern Persian poetry, introducing a whole bundle of techniques and forms to differentiate the modern from the old. Nevertheless, the merit of popularizing this new literary from within a country and culture which is solidly based on a thousand years of classical poetry, goes to his few disciples. Ahmad Shamlou stood tall amongst that new generation who adopted Nima's methods and restlessly tried new undiscovered domains of modernism in poetry.

The transformation of Persian poetry brought about by Nima Youshij, untying it feet from the fetters of the prosodic measures, was a turning point in the long tradition of our poetry. It opened a huge vista in the perception and thinking of the poets that came after him. Nima offered a different understanding of the principles of classical poetry. His artistry was not confined to removing the need for a fixed length hemistich and dispensing with the tradition of rhyming. Above, and overseeing these changes, and going beyond altering the formation of the old poetry, he was focusing on a broader structure and function based on a more contemporary understanding of human and social existence. His aim in renovating poetry was to commit it to a natural identity and also to achieve a modern discipline in the mind and linguistic performance of the poet.Mansur Khaksar "Shamlu’s poetic world" (external)

Nima rightly recognized that the formal and literal technique dominating classical poetry interfered with its vitality, vigor and progress. Although he accepted some of its aesthetic properties and extended them in the new poetry writing, he never ceased for a moment to widen his poetic experience by emphasizing the singular distinction of this art, and in returning a natural order to it. What Nima Youshij founded in contemporary poetry, which confirmed an entire era in the conviction that the traditional order of poetry could be challenged, his creative successor, Ahmad Shamlou, kept in our horizon by imparting a more innovative experience.

The Sepid poem (which translates to white poem), which draws its sources from this great poet, avoided the compulsory rules which had entered the Nimai’ school of poetry and adopted a freer structure. This allowed a more direct relationship linking the poet with his or her emotional roots. In previous poetry, the qualities of the poet’s vision as well as the span of the subject could only be expressed in general terms and were subsumed by the formal limitations imposed on poetic expression.

Nima’s poetry transgressed these limitations. It relied on the natural function inherent within poetry itself to portray the poet’s solidarity with life and the wide world surrounding him or her in specific and unambiguous details and scenes. “Sepid poetry” continues the poetic vision as Nima underlined and avoids the contrived rules imposed on its creation. However its most distinct difference with Nimai’ poetry is to move away from the rhythms it employed. Nima Yioushij paid attention to an overall harmonious rhyming and created many experimental examples to achieve this end.

Ahmad Shamlu discovered the inner characteristics of poetry and its manifestation in the literary creations of classical masters as well as the Nimai’ experience. He offered an individual approach. By distancing himself from the obligations imposed by older poetry, and some of the limitations that had entered the Nimai’ poem, he recognized the role of prose and music hidden in the language. In the structure of “Sepid poetry”, in contrast to the prosodic and Nimai’ rules, the poem arms itself entirely with the natural ability of words and incorporates a prose-like process without losing its poetic distinction.

“Sepid poetry” is a development over the Nimai’ poetry - a large branch of that. It is a poetry created upon Nima Youshij innovations. Nima thought that any change in the construction and the tools of a poet’s expression is conditional on his/her knowledge of the world and a revolutionized outlook. “Sepid poetry” could not take root outside this teaching and a sincere application of it.

According to Simin Behbahani, Sepid Poetry did not received general acceptance before Bijan Jalali's works. He is considered the founder of Sepid poetry according to Behbahani.

Behbahani herself used the "Char Pareh" style of Nima, and subsequently, turn to "Ghazal", a free flowing, poetry style similar to the Western "Sonnet". Simin Behbahani contributed to a historic development in the form of the "Ghazal", as she added theatrical subjects, and daily events and conversations into this style of poetry. She has expanded the range of traditional Persian verse forms and produced some of the most significant works of Persian literature in 20th century.

A reluctant follower of Nima Yushij, Mehdi Akhavan Sales published his "Organ" (1951) to support contentions against Nima Yushij's ground-breaking endeavors. But before long he realized that Nima and the modernists emulating him had more to offer than a just a change in rhythm, rhyme, and the general application of the classical Arabic meters.Iraj Bashiri "A Brief Note on the Life of Mehdi Akhavan Sales" (external) In Persian poetry, Mehdi Akhavan Sales has established a bridge between the Khorassani and Nima Schools. The critics consider Mehdi Akhavan Sales as one of the best contemporary Persian poets. He is one of the pioneers of Free Verse (New Style Poetry) in Persian literature, particularly of modern style epics. It was his ambition, for a long time, to introduce a fresh style in the Persian poetry.Mehdi Akhavan Sales's biography at Iranchamber.com (external)

Forough Farrokhzad is important in the literary history of Iran for three reasons. First, she was among the first generation to embrace the new style of poetry, pioneered by Nima Yushij during the 1920s, which demanded that poets experiment with rhyme, imagery, and the individual voice. Second, she was the first modern Iranian woman to graphically articulate private sexual landscapes from a woman's perspective. Finally, she transcended her own literary role and experimented with acting, painting, and documentary film-making.Forough Farrokhzad and Modern Persian poetry (external)

Fereydoon Moshiri is best known as conciliator of classical Persian poetry at one side with the New Poetry initiated by Nima Yooshij at the other side. One of the major contributions of Moshiri's poetry, according to some observers, is the broadening of the social and geographical scope of modern Persian literature.Fereydoon Moshiri's official website (external)

A poet of the last generation before the Islamic Revolution worthy of mention is Mohammad Reza Shafiei-Kadkani (M. Sereshk). Though he is from Khorassan and sways between allegiance to Nima Youshij and Akhavan Saless; in his poetry he shows the influences of Hafez and Mowlavi. He uses simple, lyrical language, and is mostly inspired by political atmosphere. He is the most successful of those poets who, in the past four decades, have tried hard to find a synthesis between the two models of Ahmad Shamloo and Nima Youshij.Mahmud Kianush, "A Summary of the Introduction to Modern Persian Poetry" (external)