Japanese Embassy’s Cultural Office in Iran has said that the Japanese people are showing keen interest in poems by Khwaja Shamsuddin Mohammad Hafez Shirazi, a well-known Iranian poet, as his anthology is among the bestsellers in that country.
According to Fars news agency, Hafez’s sonnets have always attracted interest worldwide and this popularity is increasing. Interestingly enough, the first commentators to focus on his anthology were Turks.
Hafez’s fame has transcended the borders as his poems have been translated into different languages.
Perhaps, the latest and best French version of his anthology is the one by Henri de Fouche Cour, a French orientalist who worked on it for 16 years.
The influence of Hafez on western and eastern literati has always been a topic of discussion among researchers on comparative literature.
It might not be amazing to know that the people of Central Asia, who once spoke and wrote in Persian, are interested in Hafez’s poems but the enthusiasm of easterners in his poems is rooted in history.
Japanese literature contains a book titled ’Golestan’ or ’Tsurezuregusa’ (Essays in Idleness), which is a collection of Japanese essays written by the monk Yoshida Kenko sometime between 1330 and 1332.
Hashem Rajabzadeh, an instructor of Persian language in Japanese universities, noted that the content of the Japanese version of ’Golestan’ is on an equal footing with Sadi’s Golestan in Persian language while in status it is at the same level as Hafez Anthology.

Gholamhossein Nami

Although Iranian painting has a history of 70 years, it has only recently found its proper status in the world.
Expressing this, Gholamhossein Nami, noted Iranian artist said at the inaugural ceremony of exhibit-cum-sales of paintings and sculptures that the event serves as a constructive step towards promoting art, reported Fars news agency.
Referring to the history of painting in Iran, he said, “After a lapse of 70 years, we have managed to forge interaction with the international artistic community and introduce Iranian art for the past ten years.“
Today, Christie’s, which has two centuries of artistic background, has focused on Iranian artworks and this means that Iranian artists have attained their due position in the international scene.
“We should be pleased with conditions that emerged for Iranian art in Christie’s and Sotheby,“ he said, arguing that it gave the impression that an artwork is an asset which has value.
Addressing the same gathering, deputy head of Sadabad Cultural Artistic Complex for cultural affairs, Nematollah Keikavousi said the exhibit is the outcome of tireless efforts of the Association of Painting Artists and Sadabad Cultural Complex, which brought together a total of 600 works by 200 artists by issuing a call-up during the period.
“Since the start of the exhibition, half of the artworks were sold,“ he said, noting that this is an auspicious event for the artistic community.
Exhibit-cum-sales of paintings and sculptures is currently underway in Sadabad Cultural-Artistic Complex and will continue until December 16.

Fifth International Applied and Collegiate Book Fair will be held in Tehran in which publications will be sold in US dollar with the parity rate of 8,000 rials.
According MNA, Book City Institute will display more than 2,000 titles of scientific and applied publications which were published during 2003-2007. Prices of the books have been calculated at 8,000 rials per dollar and there is no restriction in the amount purchased. This is while the actual exchange rate for the dollar is 9,300 rials.
Information about the exhibit and books on display can be obtained from the site www.bookcity.co.ir and orders for books can also be placed via the Internet.
Fifth International Applied and Collegiate Book Fair will be held in the Creativity Center of the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults from December 2-6 everyday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Presidential advisor and head of Iran’s National Library Ali Akbar Ashari was appointed head of ECO Federation of Library Associations (EFLA).
According to MNA, the appointment was made at the closing ceremony of the first assembly of heads of national libraries from member states of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in Tehran.
The members, who met at Iran’s National Library, issued a statement based on which they decided to form a committee to compile EFLA’s articles of association.
They also agreed to launch a website to provide information about rare manuscripts maintained in their libraries.
The statement further expressed the intention of members to hold joint exhibitions and specialized meetings, exchange and develop library resources and share experiences in bookkeeping.
Turkey will host the second assembly of heads of national libraries of ECO member states.

Thirty countries are participating in the Third Kowsar Film Festival which will be held in Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi province, from December 1 to 14.
Reporting this, Fars news agency quoted the festival’s Information Dissemination and Media Affairs Department as saying the countries include Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Burkina Faso, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Holland, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Palestine, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirate, US and Yemen. Selection of entries for the international section of the event will begin soon, the report said.
Noted filmmakers from around the world, including Alexander Sokurov and Shelley Saywell, have submitted 50 films to the secretariat of the event.
The festival to be sponsored by Khorasan Razavi province’s Governorate General in cooperation with Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry’s Department for Cinematic and Audiovisual Affairs will be held in various sections including, feature films, videos, documentary and short films, scriptwriting competition, 135-second films contest as well as peripheral sections.

Oscar Wilde

Persian publisher, Hermes, has published the Persian translation of Vivian Holland’s Oscar Wilde by Abdollah Kowsari.
The author of the book, Holland, the younger son of Oscar Wilde, has dealt with complete details of his father’s life, even the biographies of his ancestors, MNA reported.
The book begins: “One of the most controversial figures of the English literature or to put it in a better way, world literature was born in Dublin. Without exaggeration, Oscar Wilde’s life was both vivid and disastrous because the fame of no other writer has transcended so many phases. When asked about his most important aspiration in life by a friend from Oxford University, Wilde responded that ’God knows’.“
Wilde told his friend, “I will stay no longer in Oxford. I will become a poet and playwright. I will become famous either by writing or in other way. I might even go for leisure for some time. And then God knows what happens. I might stay in a cozy place for a while and do nothing. Plato has a famous saying according to which the most famous goal that a human can achieve is sitting and contemplating about good things. This may also be our destiny.“
The translated version of Oscar Wilde book is published with pictures from people who played a role in his life and buildings where Wilde has delivered speeches or conducted classes.

An exhibition of posters by 52 Iranian artists titled ’Peace’ is currently underway in Rome, Italy and will continue until December 20.
According to a press release faxed to Iran Daily by Public Relations Department of Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts, in the contemporary world, peace is one of the common concepts heard of regularly and everybody speaks of peace even those who seek to intimidate the world. But, what really is peace?
Perhaps, nobody is more eligible to answer the question than the artists since art seeks to promote peace and tranquility and the artist is always after peace.
For this reason, an exhibition of Iranian artworks has been organized in Rome. Three Iranian short films featuring the country’s history will be screened in Italian language to provide the viewers with comprehensive information on the subject.
Traditional Iranian music will also be aired at the event. A panel discussion themed ’Peace and Artworks’ is also on the agenda.

Brad Pitt has pulled out of Universal’s political thriller ’State of Play’ because of script concerns. The move comes after a couple of weeks of meetings between Pitt and director Kevin Macdonald (’The Last King of Scotland’) in an attempt to iron out the concerns.
According to Reuters quoting Hollywood Reporter, the script cannot be worked on because of the Hollywood screenwriters’ strike.
Universal is on the fast track to replace the star. Sources said the studio is looking at Johnny Depp, whose movie ’Shantaram’ just got postponed at Warner Bros., as well as Russell Crowe.
Pitt was set to star with Edward Norton, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman and Robin Wright Penn in the Matthew Michael Carnahan-scripted adaptation of the British miniseries. He was playing a political consultant-turned-journalist who heads a newspaper’s murder investigation involving a fast-rising politician (Norton).
Sources said the studio is mulling its legal options and might sue the actor.