Iranian poet Mansour Owji was honored on Sunday at the closing ceremony of the 12th Poetry Book of the Year Award selected by journalists.
Held annually in the final days of the Iranian year (ending March 20), the event pays tribute to celebrated poets for their lifelong contributions, ISNA reported. Born in Shiraz, Owji, 80, received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Tehran and later his Master’s in educational science from Darol-Mo’allemin Markazi (Central House of Teachers), which was the first teacher training institution for primary schools, currently known as Kharazmi University in Karaj. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature.
Owji has been writing poetry for about 60 years and published over 20 books in Persian. His first poem ‘Moment’ was published in 1957 in the Persian magazine ‘Ferdowsi’, and his first collection of poems was published under the title ‘Garden of the Night’ in 1965. In 2000, Owji’s poetry collection ‘A Branch of the Moon’ received the Crystal Cedar Award at the National Fajr Poetry Festival.
