The Reception of Hafiz

"For us non-Iranian readers of Hafiz's 14th-century ghazal poems, Iranianattitudes toward the premier lyric poet in the 1,000-year history of Persianliterature, are almost as intriguing as Hafiz's poetry itself. First is theinclination of Iranian readers to find deep, spiritual meaning in that poetry.Second is their personal identification with what they perceive as Hafiz'sphilosophy. Third is their linking of Iranian cultural identity with Hafiz's life and works to the point where some educated Iranians define part of theirIranianness by referencing Hafiz and even consider him a relevant politicalvoice. These features of Iranian appreciation of Hafiz come alive on pageafter page in The Reception of Hafiz in Nineteenth and Twentieth-CenturyPersia, while author Bahman Solati himself epitomizes Iranian love of andidentification with the poet's stances and themes in his poems."Michael Craig Hillmann, The University of Texas at Austin-Bahman Solati is Assistant Professor in Persian Language. He is the authorof several publications, including Rubaiyyat-i-Hakim Umar Khayyam, andPersian Proverbs in three volumes.