TEHRAN – Literati came together on Sunday in Tehran to remember Lieutenant-General Qassem Soleimani in an international poetry night.

The poetry night was organized at the Andisheh Hall of the Art Bureau to commemorate the second martyrdom anniversary of the former IRGC Quds Force chief who was assassinated in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad on January 3, 2020.

Literati from Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraq and several other countries in the region recited their compositions at the meeting. 

The meeting opened with a speech made by Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, the director of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature.

He pointed to the tragedy of Ashura as “a rational epic event,” and said, “This event is so great that it can be assessed with logical reasoning; therefore, poetry and music have helped to express the tragedy of Ashura since it occurred.”

He then added, “The character of Martyr Qassem Soleimani is so epic that it cannot be expressed through mere words, therefore we need the help of poetry and music; the truth of Soleimani will become eternal with the help of art.” 
 
“The Islamic revolution has proved its popularity through the character of Martyr Soleimani. We should note where he was born and how he reached such an elevated place in his people’s view. We also see the perfect Islam in the character of Soleimani… he is a person as well as a school,” Haddad-Adel explained.

He referred to the assassination of General Soleiamni and said, “Following this crime against Iranian people, the current supporting the West had nothing to say; it lost its honor; Trump martyred a person who was fighting the ISIS terrorist group to provide security for his people.”

The poetry night came to an end with honoring a number of poets.

Last December, the Art Bureau of the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization had previously organized the Sarbedaran Commander Poetry Congress to pay tribute to General Soleimani for his valor during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, which is known as the Sacred Defense in Iran.

In the classical Persian poetry category, “O Persian Pious” by Gholamreza Kafi won first prize, while “Loneliness at 1:20” by Hassan Zarnaqi, “Continuation of Ashura” by Zahra Mohaddesi and “Tell in Which Place of the Red Night” by Alireza Rajabalizadeh were selected as runners-up.

Photo: A poet (R) receives a prize from IRGC’s Muhammad Rasulallah Division chief Second Brigadier General Hassan Hassanzadeh (2nd L) at a poetry night for General Qassem Soleimani at the Art Bureau in Tehran on January 2, 2022. (Mehr/Pantea Nikzad)

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