Tradition in the Service of Modernity (A Discussion on a Poem by Mahdi Akhavan Sales)

For many reasons, Mahd¦ â Akhavan Sales must be recognized as one of the most important figures of modern Persian poetry. However, there are people who either do not consider him a modern poet or consider him a poet bordering between being modern and being traditional. The basis of such judgments are the poems Sales has written in the model of Nima, not his poems written in the classical style. In this paper, the writer tries to show that such views reflect only a shallow understanding of artistic modernity and lack of understanding of the requirements of modern art.