The Award Winner Poet of the Ninth International Festival of Raḍawī Book of the Year Selection: Poetry is Commissioned to Increase Doctrinal Knowledge
The photo taken in the poetry circle of the Supreme Leader’s Residence, decently clad in Islamic ḥijāb with her chador and scarf, is perhaps her most popular photo on the internet.
2016/10/08
Fereshteh Sedaqat Hasanzadeh (Daneshvarz - Report Group): The photo taken in the poetry circle of the Supreme Leader’s Residence, decently clad in Islamic ḥijāb with her chador and scarf, is perhaps her most popular photo on the internet. A modern day feminine mystic (as her name, Arefeh, depicts) who has just passed the age of 27 and has made poetry her heart’s vocation and is delighted that she breathes in the “poetry empyrean”; that is because she is mostly known as a doctrinal poet.
Arefeh Dehqani is a Ph.D. student of Persian Literature at Tehran University and a literary critic at Ministry of Guidance. Her 150-poem quatrain collection Ākhar Shakhṣ-i Mufrad (Last Person Singular) has reached 2nd edition, her Ā’īna Kārī (Mirror Work) and Zulf-i Ḍarīḥ (Burial Chamber’s Ringlet) both have won commended award in The Ninth International Festival of Raḍawī Book of the Year Selection. She has her Jam‘iyyat-i Parīshān (Dispersed Composure) and Surma-yi Surkh (Red Collyrium) forthcoming. About 50 of her poems have received awards in various festivals nation-wide; one of her quatrains was appreciated by Ayatollah Khamenei in the poetry circle of the Supreme Leader’s Residence in 1391/2012; a poem tainted with the color and fragrance of the Holy Shrine:
When the sorrows of my days are limitless/ or the weather of my heart is awful/they would resolve in the rattle of the train/when it’s heading toward Mashhad!
Arefeh Dehqani participated in the Ninth International Festival of Raḍawī Book of the Year Selection as one of the winners along with her husband Hamid Reza Nouri, who is also a doctrinal poet, and their little daughter. We arranged the following interview with her on the sideline of the festival:
• Mrs. Dehqani tell us about Zulf-i Ḍarīḥ and Ā’īna Kārī.
Zulf-i Ḍarīḥ is a doctrinal collection of ghazals, in which I have tried to present poems for all the Infallible Imams (A.S.) and in particular Imam Riḍā (A.S.) and his purified household. Ā’īna Kārī consists of other formats than ghazal. They somehow complement each other.
• What outstanding features do you think these two works have had that they were selected from among so many received works?
I have been doing poetry for about 15 years, most of which are doctrinal poems. It has been several years now, perhaps since 1386/2007, that I have seriously started to have my poems critiqued by poetry masters. Apart from my studies, which is in the same subject and has helped me a lot, poetry critique has had a great role in composing my most effective poem and then correcting it later on. Such masters as Amiri Esfandaqeh, Mrs. Simindokht Vahidi, and the many collections that I have humbly worked with them have assisted me in my poetry growth. The other issue is the subject of poetry. My concerns have been with Ahl al Bayt (A.S.) and dissemination of information along with it. The supreme leader says, “In poetry, mourning and eulogy [of Ahl al-Bayt – A.S.] are not the only notions that matter, we should also have a true information dissemination about the life, sīra, and the way they were martyred, etc.
• So you need historical studies for composing your poems, too.
Yes. I certainly need to study. This is a great responsibility. Sometimes the poet does not use proper sources and confuses the readers. Especially, when I want to say a poem about the descendant of an Imam, like Imāmzāda Pīshwā who is less know, I do have to study. What follows then is a matter of heart and feeling.
• All this said, which specific and reliable book do you recommend to our addressees to read in relation to Imam Riḍā (A.S.)?
‘Uyūn Akhbār Riḍā (A.S.).
• Most dignitaries recommend this book. What is your reason?
The authentic narrations that indicate the validity of the book and its large volume that contains categories properly.
• Mrs. Dehqani! With this perspective of information dissemination and increase of knowledge that you have yourself emphasized, what subject would you now focus on if you want to write a poem for Imam Riḍā (A.S.) again?
Two days ago I was invited to the Raḍawī Poetry Night, which gave me guidelines in this respect. Dr. Muhammad Reza Sangari was also present. He made interesting remarks concerning the fact that apart from such topics as the dome and the shrine, which are heartfelt subjects, we should deal more with the personality of Imam Riḍā (A.S.). I see that those seven early poets who said poetry for Imam Riḍā (A.S.), Di‘bil, Abū Nuwās, Ṣāḥib b. ‘Abbād, etc. have greatly dealt with the personality of His Holiness. There are excellences and narrations in ‘Uyūn Akhbār Riḍā (A.S.), which they had fully studied and spread them around. This book is very much neglected, and the narrations we have about Imam Riḍā (A.S.) in general have not been properly disseminated. That we can disseminate these doctrinal teachings concerning Imam Riḍā (A.S.), point out his personality and aḥādīth, talk about the number of Shī‘a poets who were martyred at that time because they had eulogized Imam Riḍā (A.S.), and many other subjects can be covered in my subsequent poems.
• Since you are young yourself, what working procedure do you suggest for dissemination of Raḍawī culture, especially among the youth and the adolescents?
Today, the virtual space is widely influential, which is befitting to use it properly. Perhaps many people are not in the mood to go to the libraries; so it would be very effective if we can involve them in these accessible spaces.
• As the last question: The International Festival of Raḍawī Book of the Year Selection has for several years had an effective role in encouraging the writers to produce works on Raḍawī doctrinal knowledge (ma‘ārif). What specific suggestion do you have for further expansion of this festival in other countries?
That is right. I have seen two poetry collections compiled of Raḍawī poems that were selected in the past years in this festival. However, for its further expansion throughout the world I think besides introducing the festival via Islamic centers of various countries, it is necessary to provide grounds for study as well. I mean, valid sources should be introduced so that if someone wants to take steps in this field, they know what reliable sources are there accessible to them to act upon.
Arefeh Dehqani is a Ph.D. student of Persian Literature at Tehran University and a literary critic at Ministry of Guidance. Her 150-poem quatrain collection Ākhar Shakhṣ-i Mufrad (Last Person Singular) has reached 2nd edition, her Ā’īna Kārī (Mirror Work) and Zulf-i Ḍarīḥ (Burial Chamber’s Ringlet) both have won commended award in The Ninth International Festival of Raḍawī Book of the Year Selection. She has her Jam‘iyyat-i Parīshān (Dispersed Composure) and Surma-yi Surkh (Red Collyrium) forthcoming. About 50 of her poems have received awards in various festivals nation-wide; one of her quatrains was appreciated by Ayatollah Khamenei in the poetry circle of the Supreme Leader’s Residence in 1391/2012; a poem tainted with the color and fragrance of the Holy Shrine:
When the sorrows of my days are limitless/ or the weather of my heart is awful/they would resolve in the rattle of the train/when it’s heading toward Mashhad!
Arefeh Dehqani participated in the Ninth International Festival of Raḍawī Book of the Year Selection as one of the winners along with her husband Hamid Reza Nouri, who is also a doctrinal poet, and their little daughter. We arranged the following interview with her on the sideline of the festival:
• Mrs. Dehqani tell us about Zulf-i Ḍarīḥ and Ā’īna Kārī.
Zulf-i Ḍarīḥ is a doctrinal collection of ghazals, in which I have tried to present poems for all the Infallible Imams (A.S.) and in particular Imam Riḍā (A.S.) and his purified household. Ā’īna Kārī consists of other formats than ghazal. They somehow complement each other.
• What outstanding features do you think these two works have had that they were selected from among so many received works?
I have been doing poetry for about 15 years, most of which are doctrinal poems. It has been several years now, perhaps since 1386/2007, that I have seriously started to have my poems critiqued by poetry masters. Apart from my studies, which is in the same subject and has helped me a lot, poetry critique has had a great role in composing my most effective poem and then correcting it later on. Such masters as Amiri Esfandaqeh, Mrs. Simindokht Vahidi, and the many collections that I have humbly worked with them have assisted me in my poetry growth. The other issue is the subject of poetry. My concerns have been with Ahl al Bayt (A.S.) and dissemination of information along with it. The supreme leader says, “In poetry, mourning and eulogy [of Ahl al-Bayt – A.S.] are not the only notions that matter, we should also have a true information dissemination about the life, sīra, and the way they were martyred, etc.
• So you need historical studies for composing your poems, too.
Yes. I certainly need to study. This is a great responsibility. Sometimes the poet does not use proper sources and confuses the readers. Especially, when I want to say a poem about the descendant of an Imam, like Imāmzāda Pīshwā who is less know, I do have to study. What follows then is a matter of heart and feeling.
• All this said, which specific and reliable book do you recommend to our addressees to read in relation to Imam Riḍā (A.S.)?
‘Uyūn Akhbār Riḍā (A.S.).
• Most dignitaries recommend this book. What is your reason?
The authentic narrations that indicate the validity of the book and its large volume that contains categories properly.
• Mrs. Dehqani! With this perspective of information dissemination and increase of knowledge that you have yourself emphasized, what subject would you now focus on if you want to write a poem for Imam Riḍā (A.S.) again?
Two days ago I was invited to the Raḍawī Poetry Night, which gave me guidelines in this respect. Dr. Muhammad Reza Sangari was also present. He made interesting remarks concerning the fact that apart from such topics as the dome and the shrine, which are heartfelt subjects, we should deal more with the personality of Imam Riḍā (A.S.). I see that those seven early poets who said poetry for Imam Riḍā (A.S.), Di‘bil, Abū Nuwās, Ṣāḥib b. ‘Abbād, etc. have greatly dealt with the personality of His Holiness. There are excellences and narrations in ‘Uyūn Akhbār Riḍā (A.S.), which they had fully studied and spread them around. This book is very much neglected, and the narrations we have about Imam Riḍā (A.S.) in general have not been properly disseminated. That we can disseminate these doctrinal teachings concerning Imam Riḍā (A.S.), point out his personality and aḥādīth, talk about the number of Shī‘a poets who were martyred at that time because they had eulogized Imam Riḍā (A.S.), and many other subjects can be covered in my subsequent poems.
• Since you are young yourself, what working procedure do you suggest for dissemination of Raḍawī culture, especially among the youth and the adolescents?
Today, the virtual space is widely influential, which is befitting to use it properly. Perhaps many people are not in the mood to go to the libraries; so it would be very effective if we can involve them in these accessible spaces.
• As the last question: The International Festival of Raḍawī Book of the Year Selection has for several years had an effective role in encouraging the writers to produce works on Raḍawī doctrinal knowledge (ma‘ārif). What specific suggestion do you have for further expansion of this festival in other countries?
That is right. I have seen two poetry collections compiled of Raḍawī poems that were selected in the past years in this festival. However, for its further expansion throughout the world I think besides introducing the festival via Islamic centers of various countries, it is necessary to provide grounds for study as well. I mean, valid sources should be introduced so that if someone wants to take steps in this field, they know what reliable sources are there accessible to them to act upon.
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