Statements in Meeting with a Group of Poets

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

We welcome all esteemed poets - dear brothers and sisters. Among you are esteemed veterans and, thanks be to God, fresh blossoms; each of you has a grace and each flower has a fragrance; our only regret is that we cannot utilize all these flowers. Friends have made the arrangements and will ask some to read; we are also waiting to benefit and listen. God willing, may you all be successful. Mr. Ghazveh, please proceed...

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

We again welcome and thank our dear brothers and sisters, especially those friends who have enriched us with their poetry. This year, like last year, I have paid attention to assess the rising level of revolutionary poetry and the poetry of this generation; I believe I mentioned this last year as well, and I emphasize again this year: I clearly observe this rise; that is, the poetry of the revolutionary poets today has made a commendable growth compared to ten or fifteen years ago. I admire both those who were considered the youth and newcomers of the revolution yesterday - who have now, thanks be to God, reached middle age and continue on this path - and also those young poets who have recently entered this field; I am now hearing their poetry; they may have entered this field years ago, but they were not at a level that reached the publications and books that come to my hands - I truly admire them. Most of the poems read tonight were good poems; good in the true sense of the word, meaning good words, good meanings, good rhythm and music, good vocabulary choices, and the expansion of imagination in these poems - especially in the poetry of the youth - is observable; these are very important. All of these indicate the growth and flourishing of the sapling of poetry in our country.

Well, one point is that the poetry of the revolutionary era - that is, this thirty-year period - is showing a good test of itself; our good poets have no decline or stagnation; one feels this. In the past, during the periods before the revolution, we saw poets - some of them famous - who reached a peak at a certain point in their lives, but then declined, stagnated, or fell; later, when we looked back, we saw that their subsequent poems had no charm at all. I observe that this has not been the case among our poets until now. For example, consider in this session, Mr. Farid, Mr. Amiri, and Mr. Mirshakkak - these friends who have been good poets from the beginning, especially Mr. Farid, whom I remember well - they have continued this movement towards better poetry with the criteria and standards of good poetry; that is, they did not stop, nor did they decline; this is important.

In addition to the new growths we have. These young poets I see truly astonish me. The young poets from some towns who come here and recite poetry, when I compare them with the poets of that town - during my youth - I see that they are better than them; even though some of them were famous names and well-known poets; but when I look, I see that they recite better poetry than them. Right now in our session - I do not want to name names - a poem was recited from a city whose previous poets I also knew; because I had also attended literary associations there and knew their famous poetic figures. The poem of the gentleman who recited here tonight is better than all the poems of those poets I knew! Therefore, this is a test for revolutionary poetry; revolutionary poetry has had a continuous upward movement. This is in terms of the essence of this meaning.

One point that exists here is that revolutionary poetry must serve the concepts of the revolution. Well, among you are those who recite ritual poetry. The religious poems and poems related to the Imams (peace be upon them) are referred to, in a term that has become common, as "ritual poetry." They exist; honestly, good poems are also written; some also recite poems related to the war and the period of sacred defense or related to martyrs or the disabled. These are very good; however - I mentioned this meaning last year as well - the goals and ideals of the revolution are not limited to these. The revolution has placed a collection of shining stars of ideals above us and has invited us to move and soar towards these luminous points. We have also tested and found that we can fly; we have seen that this flight is possible. Of course, during the period of sacred defense, exemplary instances were seen, and we saw that when this nation soars towards these ideals, it can move well; however, many of these ideals are still above us; we must move towards them: we must go towards justice, we must go towards ethics, we must go towards true independence - which includes cultural independence that is the deepest and most difficult - we must go towards the true recovery of our Islamic-Iranian identity.

In tests such as the events surrounding the elections - after the elections and before the elections - we saw that we have weaknesses and problems in these areas. These events are a great blessing for us; in that they allow us to recognize our weaknesses; like the exercises that the armed forces conduct. Exercises are precisely for this reason that this military unit or this military organization identifies its weaknesses. They set a goal, a command is issued to move towards that goal; then perceptive and insightful eyes - this is the case in all exercises - stand and observe the scene from above. They see that yes, there is a weakness in a certain point or sometimes there are chronic incapacities. This has become an exercise for us. Of course, it did not happen by our own choice; it was imposed on us; but it was good; we understood our weaknesses. Therefore, these ideals are above us, and we must move towards these ideals; then these weaknesses will be resolved. This is another point.

Well, what role does the poet have here? The artistic and cultural person - the term includes women as well - that is, the artistic and cultural human being, what duty does he have in this scene? In my opinion, the duty is very heavy, very great. The most important duty is to propagate and clarify; "Those who convey the messages of God and fear Him and do not fear anyone except God"; this is a criterion; clarify the truth that you understand. No one expects you to speak contrary to what you understand. No, say what you understand. Of course, for what you understand to be correct and right, you must strive and struggle; because in tumultuous events, understanding the arena is difficult, understanding the sides of the story is difficult, understanding the aggressor and the defender is difficult, understanding the oppressor and the oppressed is difficult, understanding the enemy and the friend is difficult. If a poet is to be deceived like others, to be misled, and to fall into ignorance, this is very beneath the dignity of an artistic and cultural person. Therefore, one must understand the truth; then that truth must be propagated. One cannot move in the cultural realm with political methods - the methods of politicians - this is contrary to the dignity of culture. In the cultural realm, one must open knots; one must clarify the truth, one must untie the mental knots. And this requires clarification, meaning the same work of the prophets; the eloquence and rhetoric that has been mentioned in expression is necessary; its eloquence means this. Although eloquence is defined in technical books as conformity with the occasion, that is a specific meaning of eloquence; the primary and explicit meaning of eloquence is not this; eloquence means conveying, eloquence means delivering. When they say that Hafez has said this eloquent and articulate poem, what does articulate mean? Does it mean that it was said in accordance with the occasion? How do we know what the occasion was when he said this poem? We are looking now; it is not a matter of occasion; it means clarity. Articulate means clear; say it clearly, say it plainly, say it elucidated; but say what you understand; there is no expectation - it is not right to expect - that someone speaks contrary to their understanding. Also, strive to ensure that what you understand is correct.

I tell you that this great movement of the Islamic revolution is not a completed movement. Now, a corner of its army is you and I, who are now somewhat considered to be of literature and culture; "And to God belong the armies of the heavens and the earth"; His army does not recognize land and sky; "And God is Exalted in Might and Wise"; God is Exalted - Exalted means the one who is dominant and cannot be dominated, that is, independent of all - you and I now take a corner of the work in hand. This great movement that began with the Islamic revolution is not a completed movement; it is absolutely not completed, that movement continues. What has now become common in statements and on television and in advertisements and in courts and in the language of all, they say: soft war; it is true, this is a reality; that is, there is now a war. Of course, I do not say this today; I have always said this since after the war - since 1987 - repeatedly. The reason is that I see the scene; what can I do if someone does not see? What can a person do?! I see the scene, I see the equipment, I see the formations, I see the mouths opened with malice and rage and teeth clenched with fury against the revolution and against the Imam and against all these ideals and against all those who have attached their hearts to this movement; these are what a person sees, well, what can one do? This is not finished. Because it is not finished, we all have a duty. The duty of the cultural, literary, and artistic community is also a specific duty: convey, clarify; say, say well. I always emphasize this: you must choose the form well and bring art fully into the field; one must not fall short, so that it can have its effect.

You see, others with these artistic works they sometimes have, are propagating falsehoods; it is astonishing that we also accept the same words! This Korean series that is being broadcast and everyone is watching it, is a fabrication of history and a false legend; if one wants to search in the Shahnameh, one can find ten or fifteen of these stories. However, the person has used art; when someone works artistically, their reward is that you, who have no interest in that history and that culture, sit down and listen with great interest, and inevitably you absorb that culture! This is the property of good art.

Good art is necessary. Now your work in the realm of art is poetry; God willing, you should read the works of the ancients and the works of the masters better and more; do not stop there, but do not disregard their beauties and do not be satisfied with what you have received so far. I must say that the definitions we initially provided are all correct, but this does not mean that the poems of our good and dear youth - who recite and truly inspire our admiration - are without flaws; no, this is not a session for criticism where one sits down, critiques, and determines the quality of poetry; otherwise, if it is about measuring quality, there will be flaws. You must find these flaws yourselves. Now, if you have specific sessions for this work - like those associations we had in Mashhad and had seen; we had heard that there were some in Tehran as well; but not with the density and strength of Mashhad; of course, I had not participated in or seen the sessions in Tehran; but Mashhad had very good sessions; they would refine the poetry - that would be even better, this is very good, in those sessions critique the poetry thoroughly; if not, you yourself look, pay attention, think, and critically examine your poetry so that, God willing, you can complete it. In my opinion, this is possible. Familiarity with the poetry of the masters enables one to better identify some of the flaws in their own poetry.

We hope, God willing, that God grants you success; now I do not know how long it will be until we have the opportunity to gather in this blessed night, with this group and this gathering of poets; it may be the last time, it may be the next time or there may be many more times. ...(4) Of course, we have not seen a session like this held anywhere; during the birth of the noble Prophet, the Sunni brothers have a poetry reading and drum session, we have seen this. In any case, if the gentlemen want to come three hundred and sixty nights every year, as long as they do not take our time, there is no problem! God willing, may God grant you success. Now let’s see, this is also a suggestion; we hope, God willing, that what is good and beneficial will come to pass. May God, God willing, grant you all success and support.

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