The cultural and social deputy at the Tehran Municipality announced that the most eminent award for a literary work will be conferred on the winner of Imam Ali (A.S.) International Poetry Competition.
Briefing the press on the competition, Hojjatol-Islam Seyed Abdollah Hosseini said, “poetry is one of the noblest Iranian arts and Iran is known in the world as the land of poets.”
The municipality is holding the competition to bolster the position of poetry in Iran by inviting the world to write poems about Imam Ali (A.S.).
Despite the numerous renowned names in Persian literature, mostly the names of Khayyam and Mawlana are known internationally. “This is while Persian literature can work as a good ground for introducing Iranian works globally,” IRNA quoted Hosseini as saying.
The competition will be held internationally with the participation of all Persian speaking nations. “With Iranians scattered worldwide and Persian spoken in many neighboring countries such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and even India, a proper basis for Persian speaking poets to write poems has been formed”, he noted.
Persian is currently the language of 300 million people in the world.
The prize is still not established but with the private sector sponsoring the competition, it would be the biggest literary award ever in the country.
No Restrictions
The competition does not have any restrictions with regard to race, nationality, gender, religion, motive, ideology, and literary style, Hosseini asserted.
It opens on Eid al-Ghadeer, (October 13), in Eyvan-e Shams and will end on the birthday of Imam Ali (A.S.) on May 1, 2015. Participants can send their works to the secretariat of the festival till February 19, 2015.
All works are adjudged by 10 well-known contemporary poets in four parts. Five selected participants will be awarded at the opening ceremony.
Prior to this, the poems will be displayed on the festival website in www.bonyadesher.ir so that people around the world can offer their comments on the works and such opinion would be considered in choosing the winner.
The winning poem of the festival would be engraved on one of the stone walls in Tehran by one of Iran’s distinguished calligraphers. Since the poem eulogizes Imam Ali (A.S.), it will be inscribed in his holy shrine as well.
Poet Laureate
The winner will be dubbed Poet Laureate of the Year and enjoy various benefits including exemption from military service if male, university admission without entrance exam, and translation of his or her poem to 10 languages of the world.
UNESCO secretary general and 1600 celebrated poets from across the world are expected to attend the festival in Milad Tower in Tehran. The winner will also be titled as Iran’s global cultural ambassador.
The municipality aims at transforming the civic body from a mere service-oriented organization to a socio-cultural one. Human beings, their needs in terms of social life and their talents are among the most important areas the municipality is concerned with, Hosseini said.
The festival will be covered by Jam-e-Jam international channel and IRIB, Iranian embassies, literary communities and associations, and related Internet websites.
