TEHRAN – Iranian literati will come together in a session on Thursday in Tehran to review the life and works by the late Persian poet and children’s book writer Ahmadreza Ahmadi. 

Writers Fereydoun Amuzadeh Khalili and Vahid Nikhah Azad are scheduled to give speeches during the session, which has been organized by Iran’s Children and Young Adult Writers Association.

Born in 1940, Ahmadi is considered the founder of New Wave Poetry in Iran.

Ahmadi published his debut collection of poetry, titled Tarh (Sketch), in 1962. Surrealism and American Imagists, such as Saint John Perse, Paul Eluard, Louis Aragon, and Ezra Pound, deeply influence his poetry.

Moreover, his literary creations extend to children and young adult audiences as well.

In the 1960s, Ahmadi pioneered the development of the New Wave style in contemporary Iranian poetry. This movement gained momentum in the latter half of the decade and transformed into a modernist cultural phenomenon that impacted Iranian literature, drama, cinema, painting and beyond.

Ahmadi established the Tarfeh group in 1965, joining forces with prominent literary and cinematic figures in Iran such as Nader Ebrahimi, Esmaeil Nuri Alaa, Mehrdad Samadi, Mohammad Ali Sepanlou, Bahram Baizai, Akbar Radi, Jafar Koshabadi, Maryam Jazaieri, and Jamileh Dabiri. Their mission was to promote and safeguard the New Wave movement.

His works have garnered him multiple awards. “The Butterfly Fell Asleep On My Pillow”, “The Boy Looked At the Sea and Said”, “Suddenly the Lights Came On”, “I Wrote Rain, It Rained”, “Broken Glass”, “I Will Tell You One Day” and “Senility Notebooks” are among his credits.

He passed away due to heart failure in July at the age of 83. 

SAB/