Ali Esfandiari (Nima Yushij)

Ali Esfandiari, popularly known as “Nima Yushij”, the contemporary Iranian poet and nicknamed the father and founder of modern Persian poetry, was in the Yush district of the Mazandaran province of Iran born on November 11, 1897. “She’r-e Nau” (lit. New style of poetry) was a title that Nima himself had given to his art.

Nima Yushij who was the initiator of a new path in the area of Persian poetry was able to transform the thousand-year-old standards of Persian poetry, which seemed unchangeable, sacred, and eternal, with his poems. He wrote his first poem entitled “Qesseh-ye Rangparideh” (lit. The Pale Tale) at the age of 23. In addition to several research works, letters, and notes, Nima has the following works to his credit:

“Qesseh-ye Rangparideh” (lit. The Pale Tale), “Nima’s Manzoumeh” (Nima’s Poem), “Hekayat va Kanevadeh-ye Sarbaz” (Anecdotes and the Soldier’s Family), “Ey Shab” (O Night), “Afsaneh va Ruba’iyat” (Legend and Quatrains), “She’r-e Man” (My Poem), “Shahr-e Shab va Shahr-e Sobh” (Night City and Morning City), “Naqus-e Qalamandaz” (Pen-breaking Bell), “Faryadhaye Digar” (Other Cries), “Aab dar Khabgah-e Mourchegan” (Water in the House of Ants), “Marqad-e Aqa” (Aqa’s Tomb), “Kandouhaye Shekasteh” (The Broken Hives), “Ahou va Parandeh-ha” (Deer and Birds), “Harfhaye Hamsayeh” (Neighbor’s Words), and “Nameh-haye Asheqaneh” (Love Letters).

Nima has also composed a number of poems in the Mazandarani dialect that have been published under the name “Roja”. Some of Nima’s works have been translated into foreign languages including English and French.

Nima Yushij passed away on January 3, 1960. His tomb is located in the courtyard of the house in which he was born in Yush and dates back to the Qajar period and has been inscribed as a national monument.