A new international literary prize dubbed 'Shahriar World Award' is slated to be launched in Iran, Shahriar International Research Foundation announced, Press TV reported.
The prize is scheduled to be dedicated to institutions, organizations and individuals whose efforts contribute to the works and life of contemporary Iranian poet and scholar Shahriar.
The event will select the works focusing on the innovation and research in Persian literature and language, in particular, through Shahryar's works, IRNA has reported.
The first edition of Shahriar World Award is programmed to be held in September, 2013.
Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Behjat-Tabrizi (1906-1988), known by his pen name Shahriar, was born in Tabriz and is best known for his straightforward language and easy-to-understand poems.
Shahriar was the first Iranian to write poetry in Azeri language and his most famous poem Heydar Babaya Salam, known by many as one of the best modern poems in the language, has been adapted into a few plays.
Published in 1954, the poem is about a mountain where the poet spent his childhood and has been translated into more than 30 languages.
Shahriar has written many different forms of verse, including lyrics, quatrains, couplets, odes, and elegies. His works have also been set to music by renowned Iranian musicians such as Rouhollah Khaleqi.
Shahriar was also a talented calligrapher and played the sitar. He passed away on September 18, 1988, and the day was named as Iran's National Day of Persian Literature and Poetry.