A group of cultural figures: Persian poets and literary scholars, pioneers and young poets from India, Afghanistan, and Turkey met with Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, on the birth anniversary of a generous Ahlul Bayt figure, Imam Hassan Al-Mujtaba (as).
During the assembly, Ayatollah Khamenei showed his appreciation towards the progress of poetic culture within the country and called poetry a “national interest." He then added, "From the beginning of the revolution, there have been efforts to steer poetry towards objectives other than those of the revolution, and these efforts still exist today."
Considering mainstream poetry at one time, before the Islamic revolution, was at the service of concepts other than national awakening and awareness, the Leader of the Revolution held: "In the literary circles of that time, most of those claiming to represent 'modernism and modern perspective', did nothing for the development of the country towards real and clear modernization."
Presenting the Islamic revolution's victory as the "beginning of a new era in poetry," with the emergence of young, ambitious poets, writing informatively, at the service of this country's goals, he said, "The number of these poets increased daily; presently, mainstream poetry is revolutionary, religiously inspired, and forward facing."
Ayatollah Khamenei went on to mention that "giving up and the illusion of an endpoint functions as a poison for the poet." He reminded the audience, "The poetic culture of Iran has great potential for progress and improvement: thus, there must be greater effort and care in one's choice of topics; and more effort towards the progression of selected words as well as the ability to deliver upon current issues."
Observing current weaknesses, involving reports on Iran-related issues and on the lives of national figures, he considered some Iranians to have been careless and negligent in this regard. To that he added, "Our great leader Imam Khomeini is a first rate figure: Friend and foe bowed to his greatness, but how many books are written on this spectacular personality?"
Ayatollah Khamenei strongly encourages thousands of poems to be written on issues surrounding important events in Syria, defenders of Holy Shrines, and events in Iraq. He stated, "Many people are not aware of USA's motives in Iraq and their failure, but this is extremely important: The “Iraq of Saddam” that evolved into “Iraq of Hakim, the martyr" needs to be illustrated.
Ayatollah Khamenei advised the poets on documenting events and improvising with the use satirical poems, especially touching on strange current events around the world. He gave the following example, relating to Islam and on the use of satire: The Prophet (saws) ordered one poet among his companions to use satire against disbelievers. Today, examples displaying the sword dance of "modern barbarism” alongside "tribal barbarism”, or the inclusion of a country like Saudi Arabia on UN's commission of human rights calls for much satire.
During the assembly, 30 poets recited their works before the Leader of the Islamic Revolution. The poets performed their Maghrib and Isha prayers with Ayatollah Khamenei; afterwards, they broke their fast and joined him for a simple Iftar meal before reciting their poems.
To read the full text of the speech click here.
