Akhtar Shirani was born to the distinguished scholar Hafiz Mahmood Shirani. His early schooling was done at home, following which, he did his Munshi Fazil from Oriental College, Lahore and acquired working experience in English and Arabic. Akhtar has the reputation of being one of the most energetic poets of romance in the world of Urdu poetry. Exhibiting intense skill, his poetry always had something new to offer and was creative to introduce new modes. His works are vibrant with subtle romantic sentiments and blissful lyrics instead of beliefs or theology. The essence of youth can be felt in his poetry. In addition to a command on Urdu as a language, his selection of words, similes, imagery were also very innovative. His compilations of poetry include Akhtaristan, Subh-e bahar and Shahnaz. In all, he there are nine collections of his verses. His compositions on literary, critical and historical subjects are rich. He was also an editor of literary magazines such as; Humayun, Khalistan, Roman and Shahkar between the years 1923 to 1939.