What kind of life did Hafez live before his enduring ghazals?

The book “I Am Hafez of Shiraz,” told in a fictional narrative from the poet’s own voice, takes readers through the highs and lows of his life, from childhood to the world of poetry and his enduring ghazals

According to Mehr reporter, on Hafez's commemoration day, 20th of Mehr, we can go to the sonnets that have been present in the lives of Iranians for centuries. But in order to know the poet who wrote these sonnets, we may need to start from his own life before turning the pages of his divan. The book "I am Hafez Shirazi" written by Amir Abbas Shahsawari, takes the audience to the world of Hafez Shirazi's life with a narrative and from the first person. From his childhood years and difficulties in life to the moments when poetry and literature become a part of his inner world.

This work tries to present a closer picture of Hafez; A poet whose name is known today with his romantic lyrics, mystical thoughts and his lasting place in Persian literature, but his life, like other people, was shaped by various experiences, ups and downs and situations.

Hafez, before he became the owner of the court

Many audiences know Hafez through his poems; Ghazals that are read in different situations of life and every generation can find a new meaning in them. However, getting to know the poet's life can open another window to understand his poetic world.

Amir Abbas Shahsawari has followed this path in the book "I am Hafez Shirazi Asht". By choosing the first-person point of view, Hafez sets the narrator of his own life so that the audience follows the events in the form of a fictional narrative instead of facing a collection of historical information.

This method of narration provides the possibility to deal with the details of the poet's daily life, feelings and personal experiences. In such a narrative, Hafez is not just a name in literature books; It is a character that the audience can follow the path of his life from the first years and get to know some of the conditions that have contributed to the formation of his character.

The narrative of the book begins with Hafez's childhood; In the years following his father's death, his life was accompanied by difficulties. To earn a living, Hafez worked in a bakery and continued his studies at the same time.

This part of the poet's life presents a different aspect of his known image to the audience. The distance between Hafez, the owner of enduring sonnets, and a child who worked for daily life, is a reminder that the path to the formation of a literary character is not separate from his social conditions and personal experiences.

By narrating this part of Hafez's life, Shaheswari tries to acquaint the audience with the ups and downs that, along with his interest in knowledge and literature, made a part of his growth path. In this narrative, work, education, and facing life's difficulties provide a basis for approaching Hafez as a person who is experiencing and learning.

Shiraz sunsets; A place for the birth of poetry

In the book "I am Hafez Shirazi", Shiraz is not the only place where the poet lives; The atmosphere of the city is also present in the narration. The sunsets of Shiraz and their effect on Hafez's feelings are among the details that the author used to bring the audience closer to his inner world.

In a part of the book, Hafez mentions the effect of watching the sunset on his desire to write poetry. This image establishes a link between the outer space and the inner experience of the poet; As if familiar sights and simple moments of life can also become a source for reflection and literary creation.

In the same narrative, the smell of fresh bread is also placed next to the sunsets of Shiraz; Two images that return to Hafez's daily life and talk about the memories that remain in his mind. The book uses these details to bring the poet's life out of the form of official information and bring it closer to a narrative experience.

Another part of the book deals with Hafez's poems and their place in culture and literature. Over time, Divan Hafez has become one of the lasting works of Persian literature and his poems have influenced many readers and poets. The translation of his poems into other languages ​​has also provided the opportunity for non-Persian speaking audiences to get acquainted with his poetic world.

The book tries to place this scope of influence alongside the narrative of the poet's life; From his interest in the Qur'an and his search for inspiration to the place his poems found in later periods. In this way, the audience is faced with two complementary aspects: the human life of Hafez and the literary legacy of a poet whose works have transcended his time.

Of course, telling a story about the life of a historical figure is different from historical research. Therefore, the audience can consider this book as a way to get acquainted with the narrative of Hafez's life; A narrative that, along with historical information, also uses imagination and storytelling.

The book "I am Hafez Shirazi" written by Amir Abbas Shahsawari is a work between biography and fiction that narrates the life of Hafez Shirazi from a first-person point of view.

After the death of his father. I worked in a bakery and studied at the same time. the truth Shiraz has very beautiful sunsets. Whenever I looked at the beautiful sunset, the feeling of writing poetry came alive in me. Don't you think it's beautiful? Divan of my poems was my companion in the nights of Shiraz. Sometimes I thought that everyone who read it would see the truth in it; In such a way that my poems were translated into different languages ​​and influenced many poets and writers. I washed the Quran three times and opened it with my own hands to get inspiration. Still, when I think about the past, the sunsets of Shiraz and the smell of fresh bread come alive in my mind.

The book "I am Hafez Shirazi" written by Amir Abbas Shahsawari has 38 pages and has been published by Maarif Publishing House.