Feb 4, 2011, 7:12 PM

Rudaki poems to be published in English, Russian

Rudaki poems to be published in English, Russian

TEHRAN, Feb. 4 (MNA) -- A selection of English and Russian translations of poetry by Rudaki, known as the father of Persian poets, will soon be available on the book market.

The Iranian firm Sokhan Publications in collaboration with the ECO Cultural Institute (ECI) will be publishing the translated book entitled “Breeze of Bokhara” hopefully by the end of the Iranian calendar year (before March 21).

The selection has been translated into English by Nastaran Nosratzadegan, and Irana Zamani has translated the poetry into Russian. The introduction has been prepared by ECI director Hojjatollah Ayyubi, the Persian service of ISNA reported on Friday.

The official from ECI Ismaeil Azar said that the book will also be available in the Cyrillic language as well, adding that it will be distributed in most of the ECO member states.

Born in the village of Rudak (Panjrud) in Khorasan, now located in Tajikistan, Rudaki was the first great literary genius of the modern Persian language who composed poetry in “New Persian,” which is written in the Perso-Arabic alphabet script.

Most of his biographers assert that he was totally blind, but the accurate knowledge of colors shown in his poems makes this doubtful. Of the 1,300,000 verses attributed to him, only 52 elegies, ghazals and quatrains remain.

His poems are written in a simple style, characterized by optimism and charm and, toward the end of his life, by a touching melancholy. In addition to parts of his divan (collection of poems), one of his most important contributions to literature is his translation from Arabic to New Persian of Kalilah wa Dimnah, a collection of fables of Indian origin.

RM/BW
END
MNA

News ID 44424

Your Comment

You are replying to: .
  • captcha