Persian literature

Persian arts

Persian literature is literature written in Persian. Some consider Persian literature to include works written by ethnic Persians in other languages, such as Arabic.

Surviving works in Persian languages (such as Old Persian or Middle Persian) date back as far as 650 BCE, the date of the earliest surviving Achaemenid inscriptions. The bulk of the surviving Persian literature, however, comes from the times following the Islamic conquest of Iran circa 650 CE. After the Abbasids came to power (750 CE), the Persians became the scribes and bureaucrats of the Islamic empire and increasingly, also its writers and poets. Persians wrote both in Arabic and Persian; Persian predominated in later literary circles. Persian poets such as Sa'di, Hafiz, and Rumi are read all over the Islamic world and have had a great influence on the literature of many countries. Contemporary Persian literature is perhaps less well-known.

Notable forms and genres

Authors and Poets of Persian literature

See main article: List of Persian poets and authors

Subsequent influences

Persian literature has had influences on many writers and cultures afar. The West-ostlicher Deewan of Goethe is a testament of how far the beauty of Persian literature came to be appreciated.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was another admirer of Persian poetry. In his essays "Persian poetry" (published 1876 Letters and Social Aims), as well as "From the Persian of Hafiz", and "Ghaselle", Emerson expressed admiration for Persian poetry and through these writings became instrumental in creating a new genre of audiences for the unique qualities of Persian verse. "The excitement [the poems] produced exceeds that of the grape" he wrote. In his interest in Persian poets and poetry, one can glimpse a Dionysian side of Emerson, the side that appealed to Nietzsche. Nietzsche himself being the author of "Zarathustra", refering to the ancient Persian sage Zartosht.[1]

These, and subsequent works by the likes of Edward FitzGerald leads one to conclude that the influence of Persian literature extends beyond what was written in the Persian language to encompass works by those who thought in Persian when it came to literature, irrespective of their native tongues and ethnic origins.

Modern Persian Poetry

Modern Persian Poetry started after the pioneering works by Nima Yushij. During last decades several figures have emerged in Modern Persian Poetry including Ahmad Shamlou, Mehdi Akhavan-Sales, Fereydoon Moshiri, Sohrab Sepehri, Manouchehr Atashi, Mohammad Reza Shafiei-Kadkani.

Modern Persian literature in Afghanistan

What is today Afghanistan can be thought of the area where modern Persian was solidified into its current form. Dari Persian is the most popular language in Afghanistan (i.e. Lingua Franca), and as such, has had numerous experts produce works in Persian literature.)

Some notable persons of Persian literature in Modern Afghanistan are:

Modern Persian literature in Tajikistan

The Samanids were largely responsible for the flowering of Persian language for the first time after the Arab conquest of Iran. Tajiki (Тоҷики / تاجيكي) is spoken today in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, despite the dominance of Russian language in government circles.

Modern Persian literature in India, Pakistan, and Kashmir

In early times, Persian literature had some mutual influences from India. Perhaps the best example that comes to mind is the famous Kelileh va Demneh that was translated into Pahlavi. This is not surprising however, considering the common sanskrit origin of the two languages, aside from many other cultural overlaps.

Eons later, The Persian was the court language of Indian royalty for nearly 200 years. This was largely due to the Muslim Mughal dynasties of India. As such, Persian became a popular language among the intellectual, literate and elite upper class. Many fine poets (such as Amir Khosrow Dehlavi for example) were gathered in Delhi and Agra, and persian language flourished in India and her territories for many years.

In Pakistan, the national anthem is still purely in Persian. [3] And Muhammad Iqbal is considered a historical icon, and perhaps the most famous of this group of Persian speakers.

For a detailed account on Persian literature in Kashmir, refer to Persian poetry in Kashmir, G.L. Tikku, 1971, ISBN 0-520-09312-7

External links

In English

In Persian

Rira.ir - A collection of many famous Persian poets, with poems in their original language.