User talk:Nepaheshgar/Goethe and Iran
I have spent time trying to improve articles with respect to Persian literature. The top 7 Persian poets in my opinion are Ferdowsi, Hafez, Nezami Ganjavi, Rumi, Naser Khusraw, Attar and Sanai. The most popular one in the Western World was Khayyam. One of the many reasons for contributing to these articles has to do with the fact that it can show a different side of Iran which might not be known to Western audiences who get their information from sources Fox News.
Persian literature has been considered by such thinkers as Goethe as one of the four main bodies of world literature[1]. Goethe was inspired by Persian literature which inspired him to write his famous "West-Eastern Divan". Goethe writes:
| “ | When we turn our attention to a peaceful, civilized people, the Persians, we must -- since it was actually their poetry that inspired this work -- go back to the earliest period to be able to understand more recent times. It will always seem strange to the historians that no matter how many times a country has been conquered, subjugated and even destroyed by enemies, there is always a certain national core preserved in its character, and before you know it, there re-emerges a long-familiar native phenomenon. In this sense, it would be pleasant to learn about the most ancient Persians and quickly follow them up to the present day at an all the more free and steady pace | ” |
[2].