Persian poet Hafez to be virtually commemorated

Tehran. (Iranart)- Persian poet Hafez will be commemorated on October 11 a videoconference to be held in cooperation with Iran’s Cultural Center in Istanbul, the University of Tabriz, Istanbul University, and Shiraz University.

The videoconference will be broadcast live at 5:30 p.m. Iran time  (1400 GMT) through the Zoom platform.

Ali Guzelyuz, the head of the Language Department of Istanbul University, Assadollah Vahed, professor of Persian language and literature at the University of Tabriz, and Saeed Hesampour, professor of Persian language and literature at Shiraz University will be the lecturers at this virtual event.

Every year, Iranian people flock to the tomb of Hafez, known as Hafezieh, in Shiraz, southern Iran, on October 12 (this year, due to leap year, October 11) which is celebrated as Hafez National Day in Iran. But this year, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the program will be held virtually.

Hafez (1325–1389) lived in Shiraz. His collection of poetry was compiled by his disciples and is known as ‘The Divan of Hafez’.

He memorized the Holy Qur’an at an early age, which earned him the nickname ‘Hafez’ (meaning memorizer or ‘keeper’).

His poetry is mostly about mystical themes and is commonly considered to be the zenith of Persian poetry.

Source: Iran Daily