Iran’s Islamic Revolution, Unique Movement (6)

Although every revolution impacts political and social structures of a country or region from the very beginning of its victory, the impact on the culture and literature are broader and lead to the birth of new ideas and schools.

The fundamental change caused by Iran’s Islamic Revolution in various artistic and literary fields cannot be ignored. This change is so evident that one can divide Iranian art and literature to pre-revolution and post-revolution periods. The Islamic Revolution didn’t create a new style but caused basic developments in literature and art.

Literature reflects the thoughts and emotions of the poet or writer about the events happening in the world. No doubt, whenever the cultural, social and political values change in a society they cause the view and emotions of the writer and poet to develop. In view of this, different developments of the early days of the Islamic Revolution not only transformed the political and social structure totally, they also caused many changes in art and literature. These changes can be seen in the form and content of the works.

If the social and political developments of a revolution are deep they will impact the literature of the country very much.

The literature of the Islamic Revolution is a committed and popular literature. It is from the people and for them. It is not a ceremonial literature or devoid of the sense of responsibility. It has a mission. It mirrors the wrath of the poets and writers who have risen from the masses and intend to be the voice of the grassroots of the society. The aim of this literature is to reflect lofty humane values.

Few poems can be found in the period of the Islamic Revolution that directly or indirectly report the events of the time.

The poetry of the Islamic Revolution, in terms of form and technique, is a natural continuation of the pre-revolution period but, as for the domain of thought and content, the political and social developments caused by the Islamic Revolution granted it a specific characteristic which is best reflected in the works of committed and popular poets.

In 1961 a genre of literature against the Pahlavi regime came to existence which was known as the literature of resistance. It persisted in the social and religious circles till the triumph of the Islamic Revolution. With the spread of political struggles against the regime of Shah, almost all of the new poets and intellectuals joined the ranks of the people in their struggles against the dictatorial regime. This is properly manifested in the numerous volumes of the poetry of Revolution.

The poetry of the Revolution was rooted and flourished in the poems of two groups of poets. The first group was the pioneers who had complied with the Islamic Revolution before its formation or concurrent with its overwhelming wave. They created a strong branch for the revolutionary literature with the artistic essence remaining from the past. Meanwhile, a group of young poets also emerged. These young poets began their career with the struggles of the people and as they believed in the principles of the Revolution naturally they became the callers of its messages.

The poetry of the Islamic Revolution, in terms of form, technique and content enjoys specific features. Young poets were inclined to classical forms hence ghazal (lyric) and quatrain prevailed. In terms of content, too, the most important feature of the poetry of Revolution was the depiction of Islamic teachings and ideals. The Islamic Revolution was the call on human being to return to his self. With the emergence of the Islamic Revolution a new bond was shaped between literature and religion. In view of the contemporary poet Ashura is not merely a historical event but it is a culture and each and every moment of the Islamic Revolution has been blended with the culture of Ashura.

Here is an example of such poems:

Thirsty am I, from the dawn give me water

Let a cup of the sun’s pure rays take me over

Friends! I’m the scorching question of Hussein

With love’s throat give me the answer

Nearly 19 months after the victory of the Islamic Revolution the Ba’athist regime of Saddam, upon the commandment of his paymasters in Washington, staged a full-scale war against Iran. People from all walks of life rushed to the fronts. The exemplary resistance of the Iranian nation brought about a new chapter in Farsi poetry and literature and even new vocabulary and concepts were added to Farsi language. 8 years of steadfastness and bravery of the Iranian people against the aggressors caused the emergence of the “War Culture”; a culture which impacted the Farsi poetry and literature a lot. The epic spirit of the poetry of the era of resistance mixed with a wave of pure Islamic mysticism intensively developed the language and content of Farsi literature.

The audience of the war poetry was the people. The poetry of the Sacred Defence has been among the most dynamic, most valuable and sweetest poems of the recent decades of Farsi language. The plain language, spiritual atmosphere, and tangible and sincere content coupled with the rich Islamic culture characterize the war poetry. Portraying the oppressed image of the people, invitation to combat, description of the crimes and cruelties of the enemy, depiction of the valour of combatants and martyrs are among the topics of the poetry of the Sacred Defence era and after that. Here is another instance of such poems:

My son, this little Basiji, wishes that he were older

A kafiya, plaque and rosary beads; wants to be like his father

He takes shelter behind the pillow and sometimes stops us

 “Sun’s caravan” is password, let pass anyone who is aware

Since unique developments are the core of fiction, revolutions are usually the source of such fictions. With the victory of the Islamic revolution professional writers of the pre-revolution era, together with their students, applied novel scenes of the events and created innovative works of fiction.

Numerous novels and stories were published during the years 1979-1991which indicates the qualitative and quantitative growth of fiction in this era. Writers were keen to create works pertaining to the events of the revolution and war. Translation of novels and serial stories was also prevalent in this era. The Islamic Revolution ushered in a new era of freedom in which literary works were translated from European, Russian and Latin American writers.

At the climax of the revolution and the victory, book reading and story writing workshops spread everywhere and literary periodicals were released across the country. Research shows that Iran’s fiction in the years before the Islamic Revolution faced repetition and in some junctures it even came to standstill. This was visible in the indolence of professional writers of the time. The triumph of the Islamic Revolution revived the moribund corpse of fiction and writers were urged to write on native issues and the problems of masses.

To review the status of the revolution’s fiction, one should look at the first rays of this great phenomenon, namely, the uprising of Imam Khomeini in 1963. The stagnated literature of the era was developed with the emergence of novelists such as Jalal al-e Ahmad. Jalal devised a new type of prose and expression in novel. This was imitated by other writers and novelists as a standard of literary genre. Jalal’s prose was blended with the colloquial language of laymen. His books like “Westoxication” and “A Straw in Hajj” were the pioneers of the literary genre of the Islamic Revolution. This trend was followed by other writers till the victory of the Islamic Revolution and after that.

The start of the imposed war in 1980 was the start of the Sacred Defence fiction which took the place of the Islamic Revolution fiction. At first the stories of the Sacred Defence lacked imagination and techniques of story writing and mostly encouraged the reader to defend the country. But gradually they were common in Farsi literature and young writers entered the scene. Many of these writers continue writing due to the fact that most of them have personally been present in the war theaters. As the Leader of the Islamic Revolution said, “The memoirs of war era are a never-ending treasure for the future generations.”          

FK/RM/SS