Just before we interviewed Baha for the film I happen to be listening to NPR and they were interviewing someone from Iran and the guest happen to mention how prevalent poetry is to their culture. So we decided to asked Baha if he wouldn’t mind reciting a favorite poem that he thought was relevant to the subject of resettlement. At the time we had no idea where his choice would fit into the final version of the film and that the verse by Saadi that he choose adorns the entrance to the UN building’s Hall of Nations in New York:
Of one Essence is the human race,
Thus has Creation put the base,
One Limb impacted is sufficient,
For all others to feel the Mace.
From: Iran’s Cultural Heritage News Agency (CHN)
Iranian cultural officials are holding a special ceremony today in Shiraz, the place where Saadi was born, in the southern province of Fars honoring the Persian poet. National television has also scheduled programs marking the day, presstv.com reported.
Born in Shiraz in 1194 CE, Abu Muslih Abdallah Shirazi, better known by his penname Saadi, is recognized as one of the most eminent poets in the history of Persian literature. His proficiency in Persian literature confers on him the title “Master of Prose and Poetry.”
He started studying literature and Islamic sciences in his early childhood. He continued his education in Baghdad+s Al-Nizamiyya School, the most prestigious institution of education at the time.
The unstable conditions in Persia following the Mongol invasion encouraged him to travel far and wide. He traveled to Ethiopia, Egypt, the Maghrib (North Africa), Syria, Palestine, Armenia and Turkey, becoming knowledgeable with the culture and conventional wisdom of various peoples.
Many people compare Saadi+s numerous travels and his adventures, which took him almost 30 years (between 1226 and 1256), to Marco Polo+s long journey in the region from 1271 to 1294.
Two of his famous works, Boustan and Golestan brilliantly reflect the experiences gathered during these extensive journeys.
Saadi Shirazi composed Boustan (The Orchard), an exquisite piece of didactic poetry, in 1257.
Within a year of the composition of Boustan, Saadi authored another volume which he entitled Golestan (The Rose Garden). The volume consists of a collection of eight rhymed-prose partitions interspersed with poetry.