Hamidi Shirazi

Hamidi Shirazi, Mahdi (1914-1986), son of Sayyid Muhammad Hasan Thiqat al-Islam. A poet and university professor hailing from Shiraz. His father was a merchant from Shiraz representing the people of the city in the first parliament. His mother was a scholar and a poet. Having received his primary and secondary education in his hometown, Hamidi studied at the Faculty of Letters, University of Tehran. He was admitted to the Military College in 1938 to serve his military service. Then he found an employment at the Education Ministry and embarked upon his teaching career and simultaneously studied at Ph.D. level and having obtained his doctorate in literature, he taught at Pahlavi University, Shiraz. He graduated from the College of Intellectual and Narrational Sciences (present day Faculty of Theology), University of Tehran and taught at the university. He composed his early poetry in 1934. His first decade of poetical career was spent in emotional realms and youthful dreams; as a consequence of which his compositions were mainly in the ghazal form and of a lyrical nature. His inclination towards the Khurasani style is clearly reflected in his three passionate and sentimental collections of poetry, namely Shikufih-ha (Blossoms); Pas az Yik Sal (After a Year); Ashk-i Ma’shuq (Beloved’s Tears). From 1945 onwards, he basically turned, in time, towards social, patriotic, and historical themes resulting in his mastery, poetical vigor, and independent diction. From among his poetry collections composed in this period, Salha-yi Siyah (Black Years) mainly includes patriotic, political, and critical poetry; Tilism-i Shikastih (Broken Talisman) includes his highly meaningful poetry in novel styles; and finally Zimzimih-yi Bihisht (Whispers of Paradise) reflect higher degrees of poetical vigor. In the last decade of his life, Hamidi defended his homeland and literary ideas and reflected his feelings about different subjects in poetical forms. This poet of vigor, after years of teaching Persian language and literature, died in 1986 and was buried at Hafiziyya, Shiraz. His poetical style is to some extent influenced by Nasir Khusraw, but he abandoned Nasir’s complicated diction. He was also influenced by Nizami and was keenly interested in social and patriotic themes. However, he was not interested in Nima and his style and intense disagreements occurred between him and Nima’s followers. Hamidi’s poetry is marked by his elegant twin couplets in which he most elegantly expressed his feelings. One of his most beautiful poetical compositions is his sequential twin couplets titled Dar Amwaj-i Sind (On the Waves of Sind), in which he presents clear and sentimental depictions of the memory of the Khwarazshahi Jalal al-Din’s valiant feats against the destructive Mongol army. He also composed works in other literary domains. His most significant work, Darya-yi Gawhar (three volumes), includes selections of the best works of contemporary writers, translators, and poets. His acquaintance with technical and literary subjects is reflected in ‘Aruz-i Hamidi (The Prosody of Hamidi); Funun-i Shi’ir (Ars Poetica); and Kalbod-ha-yi Puladin (Bodies of Steel). Among his published works in prose, mention may be made of Sabuksariha-yi Qalam (Digressions of the Pen); ‘Ishq-i Darbihdar (Vagabond Love; 3 vols.); Sha’ir dar Asman wa Firistgian dar Zamin (Poet in the heavens and Angels on the Earth). Generally speaking, his poetry is mainly tinged by lyricism followed by social and patriotic themes. Besides composing in the qasida, ghazal, and qit’a forms, he, similar to many contemporary poets, like Firiydun Tawallali, was more interested in sequential twin couplets.

Asar-afarinan (2/ 296); Danishmandan va Sukhansarayan-i Fars (2/ 376-385); Sukhanvaran-i Nami-yi Mu’asir-i Iran (2/ 1194-1201).