Awards established to honor Hafez experts

TEHRAN,Sept.6(MNA) – Tehran’s Book City has established awards to annually honor experts on the Persian poet Hafez. The awards, which have been named after the deceased Iranian expert on Hafez Manuchehr Mortazavi (1929-2010), will be presented on the anniversary of his death on June 29 next year, Book City’s Cultural Deputy director Ali-Asghar Mohammad-Khani said during a ceremony held in Mortazavi’s honor at Book City on Tuesday. Mortazavi was born in Tabriz, and was an author and an expert on Hafez. He taught Persian language and literature at the University of Tabriz and was the dean of the Persian department of the university for several years. “Mortazavi is known to be the pioneer who began conducting modern research on Hafez. His book ‘School of Hafez’ is a good comprehensive resource,” Mohammad-Khani said. He said that Mortazavi believed in the role of Persian language and literature in uniting Iran, “Persian culture lovers owe Mortazavi a lot, and the people of Tabriz and Azarbaijan must do their best to keep his name and memory alive,” he added. Scholars Rashid Eyvazi, Mohammad-Ali Movahhed, Asghar Dadbeh, Bahaeddin Khorramshahi, Nasrollah Emami and Baqer Sadrinia have been selected as the jury members of the award. “Old Language of Azarbaijan”, “Ferdowsi and Shahnameh” and “Iran in Ilkhanid Era” are among Mortazavi’s noteworthy credits.