SABZEVARI POETRY MANIFESTO OF ISLAMIC REVOLUTION: POET

SABZEVARI POETRY MANIFESTO OF ISLAMIC REVOLUTION: POET

TEHRAN -- The 37-year-old poet Fazel Nazari has said that Hamid Sabzevari’s poetry acted as the manifesto of the revolutionaries during the outbreak of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. 

Nazari made the remarks during a ceremony organized by Tehran’s Imam Ali (AS) Religious Arts Museum on Tuesday evening to honor 91-year-old Sabzevari who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

“Even if we hold a thousand other ceremonies to honor Mr. Sabzevari, we, as well as the current state of revolutionary art, will still remain indebted to him,” he added.

“The revolutionaries had no manifesto or statement at the outbreak of the revolution. The best statement of the revolution was deeply embedded in our literature and the poems of literati such as Mr. Sabzevari,” stated Nazari whose works have been praised at many of Iran’s official cultural events.

Sabzevari attended the ceremony in a wheelchair pushed by his son. He was not able to speak to the audience, among which were a large number of literati and cultural figures, including poets Mostafa Rahmandust and Esmaeil Amini, and musician Hamid Shahangian. 

“This is a great occasion for an artist who presents the happiness and grievances of his people in his own poems,” Amini said.

Shahangian who has put some of Sabzevari’s poems to music said, “He is undoubtedly the father of the Islamic Revolution poetry and no one can be deemed equal to him in the poetry of the revolution.”

The ceremony came to an end with presenting some gifts to Sabzevari who is mostly known for works such as “Khomeini, Oh Imam!” and “USA, USA, Shame on Your Deceits!”.

“USA, USA, Shame on Your Deceits!” was performed by a chorus and solo tenor Esfandiar Qarabaghi after the occupation of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979. 

His poem “This Is the Call of Freedom from the Orient” was performed by singer Mohammad Golriz after the victory of the revolution. 

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has called Sabzevari “a talented poet who always supports the achievements of the Islamic Revolution in his works.” 

Photo: Hamid Sabzevari (C) attends a ceremony organized by Tehran’s Imam Ali (AS) Religious Arts Museum on May 17, 2016 to honor 91-year-old poet. Art and Cultural Organization of Tehran Municipality Director Mahmud Salahi (L) and an unidentified person are also seen in the photo. (Mehr/Maryam Kamyam)