The last great modern Iranian poet, Ahmad Shamlu, was born on December 12, 1925, in Tehran; yet, he was forced to live in Baluchistan until the age of 10, and then, in Mashhad. Shamlu had to travel from place to place due to the fact that his father was a military officer. He was arrested in 1943 for his political activities in Tehran and was transferred to the prison of the Allies in Rasht. In 1945, he was released from prison and went to Rezaiyeh together with his family and kissed his academic studies goodbye for ever. Shortly after his release he was detained together with his father by the separatist local government of Azerbaijan. They awaited their execution before a firing squad for hours until their order of release was announced and so they saved their skin. With the fall of Mosaddeq government, the most popular government since the 1906 revolution, Shamlu had to go in hiding for six months.

In 1947, he had his first collected poems published entitled Forgotten Tunes.

In his ‘Aida Poems’, the poet explores three layers of experiences: first, he makes relentless efforts to utilize a language which is his own; second, he tries to write passionately for his beloved to whom he ascribes his poetic achievement and third, he pays particular attention to the architecture of language. These poems feature the overflow of feelings of an educated imagination, epic style and a cry of protest against the ambivalent attitudes of the precursors and restless quest for truth and beauty. Using a style reminiscent of the prose of the tenth and eleventh century in Persian literature, Shamlu succeeds in finding a singular rhythm and musicality which draws his style towards what can be called mythical or biblical style. 

In Phoenix in the Rain, Shamlu discards his earlier narrative style and focuses his attention more on the state of man. The poems in this collection are more elevated and more complicated. Although the main concern of the poet has been the ‘I’ of the poet, his poetic ego is divorced from individuality and takes on a more universal state of man. The poems in Aida in the Mirror are concerned with the encounter of the poet and his beloved with the world and the society whereas in his later poems, he deals with the issues which preoccupy the mind of modern man such as political and social issues.

His poetry is marked by meticulous choice of words, complicated themes and immaculate style hitherto untouched by any other poets before him.

Shamlu died in 2000 in Tehran.

He was nominated for Nobel Prize in literature for a number of times; yet, he departed this life without obtaining one.

Shamlu is survived by his wife and four children.