Statements in Meeting with Members of the Congress Honoring Master Shahriar

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

First, we extend a warm welcome to our dear brothers who have come from beyond the borders. We must tell them that they have truly come to their own home and homeland. We consider them as part of ourselves. We regard this place as your home. We do not consider geographical borders as separators. Also, we thank all the dear brothers and sisters who participated in the congress—both those here and those there—for organizing this congress. God willing, it has been a fitting commemoration for our dear poet.

There is much to be said about Master Shahriar. One aspect is his poetry. Regarding Shahriar's poetry, two points can be made: one is that Shahriar is one of the greatest contemporary poets of ours, both in Persian and Turkish poetry. Of course, his Persian poetry is much more than his Turkish poetry, and it seems that his first and most famous poems are in Persian. However, the poem 'Heydar Babaya Salam' should be considered an exception, as it has a separate story, which I will discuss in the second part regarding Shahriar's poetry. But if we set aside 'Heydar Babaya Salam,' overall, Shahriar's Persian poetry surpasses his Turkish poetry.

In Shahriar's Persian poetry, the main characteristic for our Turkish brothers is that the poetry is in the true sense of the word. Poetry in the true sense of the word is the true meaning of poetry. It is not just the arrangement of words; it is the essence of feeling and imagination. When I say this, Persian-speaking Turks, like Mr. Tajlil, know it well themselves. Sometimes this language reaches its peak. We have ghazals in Shahriar's Persian poetry that are among the top-tier Persian ghazals. Of course, there are not many of these, but they exist. Sometimes, of course, the language declines. We do not expect a poet born in a non-Persian-speaking region to do otherwise. But what we see from Shahriar in Persian poetry places him among the greatest poets of our time. The second point about Shahriar's poetry is something beyond this; it can be said that Shahriar is one of the greatest poets of all periods in Iranian history. This is due to 'Heydar Babaya Salam.' 'Heydar Babaya Salam' is an exceptional poem. All the positive poetic qualities of Shahriar are present in this poem. That is, fluency, purity, taste, and other qualities related to poetry are all gathered in 'Heydar Babaya Salam.' But in addition to these, there is another feature in 'Heydar Babaya Salam,' which is that in this poem, which is an image of the poet's own mental background, there are many wise points. With this in mind, Shahriar can be considered a sage. The foundation of the poem 'Heydar Babaya Salam' is, in our opinion, very high. We think it is a very artistic blend of poetry, wisdom, beautiful language, and extraordinary power of imagery. Shahriar composed this poem when he was very young. He himself wrote in the copy he sent me on the first page: 'I think I composed this in the year 1324 SH.' And in that year, Shahriar was very young. Now, because Mr. Shahrokhi and Mr. Sotoudeh and other poet brothers are sitting here, I will say something as a sweetener for the gathering. This ghazal of Shahriar is in my mind, which says:

In union, too, from your longing, O flower, I am in flames You do not fall in love to see what I endure

See, this couplet is truly among the highest Persian poems:

With reason, the water of love does not flow in the same stream Poor me, made of water and fire

Of course, in this same ghazal, Shahriar has a very low couplet, with the rhyme 'shirt pull,' which is also one of Shahriar's characteristics. Thus, a zigzag line is followed in this poem: it goes up and comes down! That is, if it were possible to say the entire poem in the same manner as the opening, it would have been an extraordinary composition.

Let's read a stanza from 'Heydar Babaya Salam':

Heydar Baba, the world is a false world A world left from Solomon, from Noah Whatever anyone has taken from it From Plato, only a name remains

But there is a fundamental point about Shahriar that, if emphasized, is worthy in my opinion. That point is that Shahriar, during an important period of his life—perhaps the last thirty years of his life—went through a very beautiful mystical and spiritual period and engaged in companionship with the Quran, spirituality, and self-purification. That is, he reached himself and tried to give his inner self and spirituality a purity.

He himself has clearly expressed this meaning in his poems of the last twenty or thirty years. Even as I heard—perhaps I heard it from him; I do not remember exactly now—he wrote a Quran in his own handwriting. Perhaps he did not finish it... In any case, I have in mind that he was busy writing a Quran. When the revolution triumphed, he, with his same religious spirit and clear and bright mentality, welcomed the revolution very well. Perhaps in the first one or two years of the revolution, no one remembered Shahriar. That is, the preoccupations were so many that there was no opportunity for these memories. Suddenly, we heard Shahriar's voice, praising the revolution, rising from Tabriz. We saw that he was following all the details of the revolution.

In all the critical moments of the revolution, he played an effective role. An eight-year war was imposed on us, which was one of our hardest experiences after the revolution. The number of poems Shahriar composed for the war; his presence in centers related to the war, such as congresses related to the war and war poetry, and the praise he gave to the general mobilization of the people or the army or the Revolutionary Guards, is so much that if one did not see and hear and experience it oneself, it would be difficult to believe. A man around eighty years old—or even more than eighty years old—would attend poetic gatherings and compose poems or poems for every ceremony! This was while such an expectation was not even there from someone like him. This shows the utmost sincerity, purity, and nobility of that man.

In any case, Shahriar was an Islamic and revolutionary poet. I knew that at the same times Shahriar was composing for the revolution, a group of intellectuals affiliated with the previous regime, who had a history of friendship with him, were constantly pressuring him, writing letters to him, and composing poems in his satire. I even knew that they had gone and reproached him, saying, 'Why are you so passionate about the Islamic Revolution!?' And he stood like a mountain.

I was truly amazed. I knew some of those who were pressuring him closely and knew their poetry and mental background. Some of them were affiliated with the previous regime. They were directly related to that faction and were considered part of the Pahlavi court and that apparatus. Others were Tudeh members and those who were considered to be on the payroll of the former Soviet Union. All of these, despite the apparent distance between them in terms of foundation and logic, were partners in exerting pressure on Shahriar, and Shahriar stood firm and resolute.

In any case, Shahriar was a humble poet. He was not after fame and worked for God and duty, and now God Almighty is rewarding him. Today, Shahriar is a very luminous figure within our country. A few nights ago, the television showed a ceremony on the occasion of Basij Week, where Shahriar was present. These past few days, it was Basij Week, and in one of the Basij ceremonies, Shahriar was reciting poetry, and he was shown on television. I am sure that everyone watched that part of the program; that is, everyone who could watched it. I myself wanted to sleep, but I saw that the television was on in the children's room and Shahriar's voice was coming. I went to watch, and I saw that all the children were standing and watching. This is the strange popularity that Shahriar has gained. This is because of the services and work for God that he did. Shahriar is certainly enduring. He is one of those poets who, like Saadi and Hafez and the like, will be more famous and greater in the periods after his own time. Therefore, whatever the gentlemen do about him is not too much in our view. Shahriar's presence in any country and among any nation is a blessed and beneficial presence.

Our brothers in the Republic of Azerbaijan, although they presumably do not benefit from his Persian poetry, even using his Turkish poetry is very valuable. I wish they could read the Persian and Arabic script, so they could see Shahriar's own handwriting and understand that Shahriar was one of those with very beautiful handwriting and practiced calligraphy until the last years of his life. If they could read that too, it would be a higher step in understanding him. We sincerely thank Mr. Dr. Larijani; also, all the brothers and sisters who organized this congress. We thank the gentlemen and ladies who made the effort and came from the Republic of Azerbaijan. God willing, you will have a pleasant time in Tehran and have good memories. We are also very grateful to our poet, literary, and scholarly brothers and sisters who are present here. May God keep you for us, and God willing, may all of you be a source of goodness and blessing for this country, this nation, and our history.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings