[1] It was in Mashhad that he was familiarized with the elementary principles of classical Persian prosody by one of his instructors in the technical school in Mashad, named Parviz Kāviān Jahromi,[1] (Akhavan, 2003c, p. 386).

[1] Akhavan’s first collection of poetry, Arḡanun (The organ; Figure 3), was published in 1951 and when the government of prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh was toppled by a coup, he took part in political activities and was imprisoned along with Nima Yooshij and other activists.

Although Akhavan Sales's poetic career began as early as 1942, he did not acquire a degree that recognized his achievements, which was necessary for breaking into literary circles, in his time; however, this changed when he published his third volume of poetry in 1956, entitled "Zemestan" (Winter); this volume boosted Sales's career and placed him among the top runners for the mantle of Nima Yushij.

The fact that, like Nima, both poets had begun as traditionalists and then worked their way into new realms of New Poetry (sic) through individual initiative itself, both deserved praise for singular effort (why single one out when two can hold the same title at once?).

Akhavan Sales was free from involving his poetry in 'gavel by gavel' battles with Iranian and Turanian 'political' magistrates; on the contrary, he could focus on the themes and illustrating aspects of life with diverse, often far-fetched similes, metaphors, and symbols (without concerning himself, that is, with political consequences).

While translating his verse, one cannot ignore the impact of the internal rhythm, the interconnection of seemingly disparate images, and the ubiquitous presence of his thematic focus.

Iraj Bashiri's translation gives us the English equivalent:[3] As Abdolali Dastgheib, literary critic writer puts it: Mehdi Akhavan-Sales benefitted from ancient treasures of Persian literature and was able to skillfully combine the old, traditional style with modern or even, everyday words to create some of the best works of Iranian poetry.

For example, his famous poem ‘Winter (Zemestān زمستان, 1956)’ which was written shortly following the coup against Iranian popular and liberal prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, and the suppression of freedom by the Shah’s government, shows his despair and loss of hope.