Shahriyar, Eternal Azeri Poet
Mohammad Hussein Behjat Tabrizi whose nom de plume is Shahriyar was a gifted contemporary poet. He is the composer of the first and the most famous Azeri poetry collection ever written by an Iranian.
Born in 1906 in Tabriz, he studied Divan of Hafez under his father's supervision and teachings, while using the same home study program for all his elementary education. His father was a lawyer. Therefore, his first formal education took place at Motahhari Secondary School in Tabriz and later at Dar ul-Funun School in Tehran. Although he studied medicine in college, he dropped out right before getting his diploma, to go to Khorassan.
There, he found a job at Neyshabur notary public and later at Bank Keshavarzi. He was initially used to publishing his poems under the name Behjat, but later he changed it to Shahriyar.
Having studied the Divan of Hafez since childhood, he developed a special interest in this masterpiece and gradually discovered his own talent, sensation and fine feelings to compose his own poems. The work of this passionate and gifted poet was initiated by composing tragic and heart breaking (POR SUZ O GODAZ) poems. Years passed and he composed countless poems, until he finally managed to publish his long-awaited beautiful poetry collection at an old age.
His first poem composed at age seven was in Azeri, and the second at age nine in Persian. Perhaps he tried to write an autobiography in the form of poems as the reader perceives this point while reading his divan.
Many of his bitter and sweet memories are reflected in his books, "Hazyan Del", "Heydar Baba", "Mumia'ii" and "Night Fable". His other book, Takht-e Jamshid is a collection of epical poems that reveals the poet's imagination. Shahriyar has composed diverse forms of poetry including lyrics, quatrains, couplets, odes and elegies.
Heydar Baba, composed in Azeri and later translated into Persian is to be considered one of his artistic works. Actually it is not only his best book but also the first and most interesting Azeri poetry collection ever composed by an Iranian. It was long on the top-ten best-sellers list.
Heydar Baba is the name of a mountain where the poet spent his childhood. Shahriyar also played the setar (a musical instrument) very well and had a keen interest in and knowledge of music. He was also a good calligrapher. As if flying on the wings of imagination, he demonstrates his sensitive poetic spirit throughout all his books.
One can sense a kind of tendency toward innovations in his work. The major part of his book consists of lyrics. Actually one of the major reasons of his success in literature is the simplicity of his words. As he uses his poetic talent to use slang and to talk in a colloquial Persian in the form of poetry, his poems can be understood even by a layman. He expresses his own ideas in this manner.
That is why the public finds his words familiar, understandable and effective. The novelty in context and commentary is what makes his poetry distinguished. He died on September 18, 1988 to become an eternal celebrity.