TEHRAN -- The 5th Fajr International Poetry Festival has opened in a ceremony at the venue of Iran’s National Library and archive on Saturday morning.

The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, as well as by Yahya Talebian, the deputy minister of culture for poetry and literature.
Poets Hossein Bidaj, Mosfeq Kashani, Parviz Beigi Habibabadi, Mahmud Ekramifar and Ghazal Tajbakhsh attended the ceremony.
“We should introduce younger generations to the Iranian poetry heritage more so because of the past,” Hosseini mentioned during the ceremony.
He referred to poetry as one of the most ancient of the arts about human beings, which is a cultural heritage in the Persian culture.
Over 4280 poets submitted their works to the secretary of the festival, which were judged by 50 jury members of the festival unanimously.
Poems by 150 participants were accepted at the festival; and, most of the poets who applied came from Tehran, Alborz and Isfahan provinces and 41% of them were female.
Poets from 16 nationalities including Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Turkey, China, Azerbaijan, India and Sudan attended this edition of festival.
Four different categories have been assigned to the festival this year, which are classic, modern, children and young adults, and songs.
The programs will continue in other locations in Tehran, and closing day will be on March 1 in Vahdat Hall.