Commentary

From the wide range of human practices of creative expression, poetry has been the most prominent one for the Iranians. And there are many prolific poets that have established that rich tradition.

literate or illiterate, young or old, Persian’s love, appreciate and recite poetry in their daily lives.

Poetry books are found in almost everyone’s house and are part of all traditional ceremonies. These poems cover all aspects of life, mythology, history, morality, spirituality, mortality, and love.

Getting together and reciting poetry aloud in its musical form, is a fun pastime. It is believed that, this practice has kept the Farsi language in its original format. Such that poetry of more than 1000 years ago is still easy to read and understand and feels contemporary.

“Moshaereh” is a traditional match game based on poetry. Where one person recites a stanza of 2 lines and the next person has to recite another poem that starts with the last letter of the former one. This exchange continues, until one person gets stuck and loses to the other.

“Naghali” is another form of reciting poetry which is combined with narrating the story and acting it out, which is usually practiced for the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi. Naghali is an old tradition that is practiced all over the country in simple street formats or elaborate theater settings.