Statements at the Meeting with Poets on the Night of the Birth of Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba (peace be upon him)

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

First of all, we enjoyed the poems that friends recited. Some of the poems were very good, some were good. When I refer to my memory, it seems to me that this year, overall, the poems had a higher level compared to previous years; and this shows that, thanks be to God, the movement of poetry in the country is a continuous movement; this movement is forward; and this is very valuable for us.

Poetry is one of the most prominent arts; and an artist - whether in the art of poetry or other arts - is among the elite who have a heavier responsibility in matters of responsibility; it is natural. Elites - whether political elites, scientific elites, or cultural elites - in every field, have greater responsibilities than non-elites. An artist is a prominent elite; therefore, they have responsibilities. In my opinion, these responsibilities should be taken seriously, and the art of poetry, which is a very noble and important art that does not become obsolete in history, should embody and carry these heavy responsibilities.

Of course, the human emotions of the poet must be taken into account, the poet's sorrows must also be considered, and the poet's thoughts and wisdom must be taken into account; that is, each of these three parts dedicates a section and chapter of the art of poetry to themselves. There is no place for complaints; that is, if poetic emotions, romantic feelings, and feelings related to personal life issues do not appear in poetry, then poetry has not really done all its work. Therefore, part of poetry relates to the poet's emotions; which, of course, sometimes in this regard, there is excess, and all poetry is dedicated to these emotions.

One part is the poet's sorrows; we also observe this in the poetry of poets. Most poets - it is not limited to a specific time; in all times, as far as I have had the opportunity to know and see - in different periods, poets are melancholic; they lament for something beyond what exists in their lives. We do not concern ourselves with the spiritual aspects of this lament; no, in terms of material conditions, in terms of problems, in terms of being hurt and wounded, they have complaints, they have sorrows. All poets have this sorrow. I saw in one of the biographies of poets from the late Mongol period, that they complain and say that unfortunately, the market of poetry is stagnant, we are not paid attention to; it used to be like this, it used to be like that. This is at a time when poets were respected, they were given money, they were given gold or silver equal to their weight! That is, this state has always existed. These sorrows also have a share in the poet's poetry; there is no place for complaints. I never complain to any poet that they bring some of their sorrows from the situation into their poetry. Ultimately, the spirit of the poet is a sensitive and delicate spirit; they are hurt by something, they become upset. Therefore, there is really no place for any fault. Many of these close and sincere friends among our poet companions have had these sorrows, and I have also been among the good and patient listeners of their sorrowful poetry. Therefore, we recognize these two parts of poetry: both what relates to emotions and what relates to expressing sorrows. However, there is another part which is the poet's thought, the poet's wisdom; this should not be neglected. Look at Saadi; these are the peaks of our poetry; Saadi has many of those - as you say - poetic, romantic, and emotional aspects, and he has a lot of sorrows too; both in the "Gulistan" and in his ghazals and other places; but observe how Saadi's wisdom is spread throughout his poetry. Saadi can be recognized as a sage. This is what elevates someone like Saadi, someone like Hafez, someone like Saib to the peak. Wisdom, the wise thought, the necessary issues for teaching to humans, understanding these and incorporating them into poetry and expressing them - which religious and human knowledge and lifestyle are among the best of them - these are the responsibilities of the poet. My recommendation is that friends should never forget this major and important share of poetry; of course, fortunately, there was a significant share in this section in tonight's poems.

In matters related to our society and our time, the poet also has responsibilities. Today, a great historical movement has emerged from within our society and has inspired great human collections; this is a reality. The Islamic Revolution's confrontation with the system of domination in the international arena, standing against oppression, by a nation that has been under the yoke of oppression for two hundred years or more, and raising the flag of freedom and liberty in this country is very important; this must manifest in the poetry of our poets. Also, what came after this freedom. I have repeatedly said in this session and other sessions that the issue of our eight-year military jihad was not a small matter, it was significant; which, in my opinion, must be given a lot of attention in our poetry. Also, the jihad of building the Islamic community, the jihad of strengthening the national power structure that we have repeatedly emphasized, the jihad of reforming the lifestyle - which I have said is the essence of Islamic civilization, and what we discuss outside of lifestyle are all forms and methods and measurements - each of these is a jihad; participation in this jihad through poetry must be given attention. Also, issues related to history, related to the times. Today, Islamic awakening is an important issue, the issue of Palestine is an important issue; these must have a share in our poetry, we must address these in our poetry. In any case, these are things that are important.

I have another recommendation - which I have noted here - paying attention to children's poetry that embodies concepts of Islamic wisdom and political wisdom is, in our opinion, one of the necessary tasks and today there is a bit of a gap in this area. Children's poetry and books for children and adolescents are among the important sections that are currently being focused on. Poets who have the ability, who have an eloquent language, should incorporate wisdom-filled concepts, that is, Islamic and Iranian wisdom, into their Persian poetry. Young talents must be nurtured. We have a lot of talent among the youth, and the youth can more easily accept truths and reflect these truths in their expression and in their poetry.

We thank God - thanks be to God - that today the language of our poets is an eloquent language; good truths are also being expressed with this language. If we want to compare today with, for example, ten years ago - when this same session has been held every year on this night or a night similar to this night - it is truly a forward movement that has made tonight incomparable to those nights we had; that is, truly and fairly, our revolutionary poetry, the poetry of our youth, the poetry of our dear committed and responsible poets, the poetry of our predecessors, the poetry of those who are present in the field of nurturing the youth and playing a role, in my opinion, has made very good progress. As I said, our good friends and poets are constantly engaged in becoming better - "As you become better, I become more afflicted" - both in the field of poetry and in the field of critique. Sometimes I read some articles by some friends in the field of poetry critique; it truly brings joy; it is profound, good; God willing, continue. We hope that God Almighty blesses your other works as well, and God willing, you can add increasing advancements to the spiritual treasure of Persian poetry. Once again, we thank the friends.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.