Gerishna: April 21st is called “Sa’di’s Day” in Iranian calendar to celebrate the grandeur of one of the pillars of Persian literature from the 13th century A.D. Abū-Muhammad Muslih al-Dīn bin Abdallāh Shīrāzī, better known in Iran as Sa’di Shirazi has a role comparable to Shakespeare in English literature, since he shaped the Persian language through his verse and prose. Two of his masterpieces of didactic literature, Gulistan (The Garden of Roses) and Bustan (The Orchard) rank highest in Persian literature and are available on every bookshelves in every houses and schools besides The Holy Quran, Hafiz’s Divan, and Rumi’s Mathnawi.
To celebrate “Sa’di’s Day” and in an attempt to assimilate his outstanding poetry and prose into the digital media, the Society of Poets and Writers of Gerash have designed a competition called “Reading Sa’di”. To enter this competition, you need to select one of your favorite parts of Gulistan or Bustan, read and record it on your device, and send the file to the literary circle in one of these ways: 1) to the email address gerash@gmail.com; ۲) to the mobile number +989374909600 in any social network such as WhatsApp, Viber, etc.
The deadline for sending the recorded file is April 21st, “Sa’di’s Day”. Five winners (three students and two other participants) will be announced on April 23rd in the special meeting of the Society of Poets and Writers of Gerash.
Click the links below for the English translations of the two books in pdf format:
Gulistan (The Rose Garden) of Sa’di Shirazi
Bustan (The Orchard) of Sa’di Shirazi
Some words and expressions in this news story:
Celebrate: بزرگ داشتن، جشن گرفتن
Pillar: ستون
verse and prose: نظم و نثر
masterpiece: شاهکار
didactic literature: ادبیات تعلیمی
assimilate: وفق دادن
Society of Poets and Writers of Gerash: انجمن شاعران و نویسندگان گراش
Deadline: آخرین مهلت