Hafez: Inspiring New Creations in Literature, Architecture and Music

Shiraz – The 30th International Hafez Day was held in Shiraz at his tomb, examining the influence of the poet's work on literature, architecture, performing arts and music, with the participation of professors and Hafez scholars.

According to Ambassador Arjan Siamin, the International Day of Hafez with the focus on "Hafez in artistic and literary creations" was held at the National Library and Fars Document Center with the support of the Center for Hafez Studies and with the presence of university professors, researchers and writers.

In this scientific meeting, eight researchers from Razavi Khorasan, Gilan, Tehran and Fars provinces presented their findings about the reflection of Hafez's poetry and thought in different fields of art and literature.

In this ceremony, Saeed Hasampour, the head of the Faculty of Literature and Humanities of Shiraz University, emphasized the wide capacities of Hafez's poetry and said: The words of this poet, beyond the boundaries of language, have become a source for the creation of artistic and literary works, and its influence can be seen in calligraphy, painting, Iranian music and contemporary literature.

Referring to the three decades of activity of the Conservation Center, he considered the strengthening of research infrastructures, the expansion of scientific communication and the support of responsible institutions as the main needs of this field.

According to him, in the last two years, the Center for Preservation has held 12 specialized meetings, including six domestic meetings and six international meetings. The publication of the magazine "Hafez Pzouhi" and the holding of seasonal courses of memorization with the participation of more than 600 people in each course are other activities of this center.

Hessampour also emphasized the necessity of using new tools to introduce Hafez to the new generation and expand comparative research on the reflection of his personality and thought in the literature of other countries and requested the support of national and provincial officials for the activities of the Hafez Center, especially the establishment of the independent building of this center.

Hafiz; A wise and free-thinking poet

Alireza Qayamati, a member of the faculty of Farhangian University of Mashhad, in his speech entitled "Hafiz, the head of the free-thinking circle; Hafez's compassionate worldview emphasized the place of wisdom, freedom and compassion in this poet's thought.

He considered Hafez to be a poet beyond religious boundaries and prejudices and said: Free thinking, avoiding self-righteousness, respecting people and overcoming superstitions are prominent features of Hafez's worldview.

Referring to the polyphony in Hafez's poetry, Qayamati listed love as one of the fundamental elements of his thought and emphasized that in this poet's worldview, truth-seeking and wisdom have a place beyond prejudice and dogma.

Reflection of Hafez in story writing and architecture

Alireza Mahmoudi Hamidi, author and researcher, in the speech "Private memorization; Hafez's reflection in contemporary Persian fiction writing" discussed the capacity of Hafez's poetry to form different perceptions.

He considered Hafez's poetry as a text that audiences in different eras can receive new meanings from according to their experience and worldview. Mahmoudi Hamedi also introduced the novel "Private Reading of Hafez" as an attempt to recreate the personal experience of Iranians of encountering Hafez's poetry in the form of a modern novel.

Mohammad Reza Haeri Mazandarani, an architect and writer, also discussed the conceptual similarities between Hafez's poetry and Iranian architecture in his speech "Another narrative of Mehrazi in the sonnets of Hafez Shirazi".

Emphasizing that every building does not necessarily become architecture, he explained that understanding the connection between Hafez's sonnets and Iranian architecture requires examining the worldview, conceptual structure, and how meaning is organized in both areas.

From the semiotics of the mask to the musical interpretation of the ghazal

Hamidreza Shoairi, a faculty member of Tarbiat Modares University, in his lecture "Hafez in the scene of days: from mask to mask" examined the concept of mask in Hafez's poetry and considered it a two-faceted element to hide and reveal the truth.

With the approach of discourse semiotics, he investigated the role of the mask in the representation of identity, the relationship between man and himself, and the border between presence and absence, and showed how this concept becomes a tool for analyzing the hidden layers of human existence in Hafez's poetry.

Moin Kazemifar, a member of the academic faculty of Shiraz University, also investigated the effect of musical performance on the audience's perception of the sonnet "Zelf Bar Bad Medeh" in a research titled "Hafiz and Music: Performance as Interpretation".

Calligraphy and connecting poetry with human life

In another part of the meetings, Manijeh Abdulahi, a faculty member of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, gave a speech on "Hafiz and Hadith Jan".

Hossein Salehi Mohd, a faculty member of Mashhad University of Arts, also in his speech "Hafiz e Khoshnois; Calligraphers and Hafez" reflected the sonnets of Hafez in the art of calligraphy.

The presence of Mohammadreza Shafiei Kodkani, an outstanding professor of Persian language and literature, was another prominent part of this year's scientific meetings.

He attended this program at the invitation of Hafez Center and listened to the lectures of the researchers.

The academic meetings of the 30th Hafez International Day were held in cooperation with the Faculty of Literature and Humanities of Shiraz University, the General Directorate of Fars Culture and Islamic Guidance, the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Crafts of Fars, and the Fars National Library and Documents Organization.

This event emphasized the capacity of Hafez's poetry to inspire scientific research and new creations in literature, architecture, music and performing arts; A capacity that, after more than seven centuries, is still the basis for new readings of the thought and works of this Iranian poet.