A new book in Russian entitled聽Poetry as a Means of Preaching: The Concept of聽 鈥渢he Good Word鈥 in Nasir Khusraw’s poetry聽was published by Natalis Press, Moscow in September, 2007. This work, by Leila R Dodykhudoeva and Marina L Reisner, was commissioned by the 鸟大大影院 and Hakim Elnazarov, the Institute鈥檚 Central Asian Studies Project Coordinator, was one of the book鈥檚 co-editors.
Nasir Khusraw, the 10th century Isma鈥榠li poet and thinker, belongs to a long tradition in Persia and elsewhere of expressing philosophical thought in poetry. His discourse has philosophical and didactic elements, with a strong spiritual and ethical purpose. He expressed his teachings using poetry as a tool to convey values in symbolic form, inviting people to be better human beings.
This particular work explores how Nasir Khusraw鈥檚 poetry enriched Persian language鈥檚 literary and moral diversity. His conception of 鈥渢he Good Word鈥 (sukhan-i nek) was based on the principle of cognition of its divine nature: the perfect poet is the one whose works have an inner meaning 鈥 the true sense of the Word connected with the creative nature of God. Emphasizing doctrinal and ethical principles, the poet鈥檚 idiom and nuances guide the reader towards wisdom, advice, moral guidance – expressions used for conveying the power of 鈥渢he Good Word鈥.
Dr Dodykhudoeva is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Linguistics at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Professor Reisner teaches History of Persian Literature in the Iranian Philology Department at the Institute of Asian and African Studies (IAAS) of Moscow State University. The two Russian scholars of Persian language have previously published works on Nasir Khusraw together. Their work includes The Concept of Sukhan-i Nik in Nasir Khusraw’s Didactic Qasidas, in Nasir Khusraw: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (2005). Both also presented papers at a conference entitled The Philosophical Poetry of Nasir Khusraw convened by Alice Hunsberger in 2005.
