Iranian poet Ali Baba Chahi dies at 83

Ali Baba Chahi, an Iranian poet and literary critic, died on Monday, Feb. 24, at age 83 in a hospital in Karaj from cardiac arrest.

Mohsen Mirkalai, director of the documentary "Believe It or Not, This Was Also a Joke" about Baba Chahi's life, announced the death to ISNA. Ghazal Baba Chahi, the poet's daughter, confirmed that her father passed away after periods of illness.

Born in 1942 in Bandar Kangan, Bushehr province, Baba Chahi completed his primary and secondary education in Bushehr. He developed an interest in poetry and literature during his first year of secondary school, winning first place in student literary competitions in Bushehr and Shiraz.

His early works appeared under the pseudonym "A. Faryad" in Tehran magazines. After receiving literary awards, he published under his own name.

Among his collections are "In a Bitkihegah," "World and Sad Brightnesses," "Voice of Hearing," "Sun Rises from Our Soil," "Song of Sea Men," "Their Houses Are Between Seas," "Drizzle Rain Am," "Reason Torments Me," "My Face is Very Suspicious," "Picasso in the Waters of the Persian Gulf," "The World is Wrong," "They Fall in Love in Their Own Way," and "People Have No Names at Sunset."

Baba Chahi was recognized as a prominent figure in contemporary Iranian poetry, with his works influencing Persian poetry and literary criticism. His poetry also had fans in Afghanistan, where some poets adopted his style.