Supreme Leader asks poets to preserve cultural identity

TEHRAN,July 14(MNA) -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei asked poets to preserve cultural identity. “Of course, the main function of a poem is to influence the minds and hearts of people, feeding them with food for thought,” the Leader said on Saturday night during a meeting with poets and literati, which is held on the eve of the birthday of Imam Hassan (AS) every year. “Like the great poets in the history of Persian literature, each poet has a duty to artistically influence the minds of their fans to enrich their solitude with the spirit of hope, joy, vibrancy and progress, and to strengthen these elements, which are the real identity of the people,” he added. “The cultural identity of a nation is composed of its cultural specifics and advantages, and poetry should preserve the national identity and purify it,” the Leader stated. Ayatollah Khamenei also pointed to the latest Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and said that poets should support the oppressed people and clarify the truth and what is right in their works. The Leader also hosted the literati for iftar, the evening meal for breaking the dawn-to-dusk daily fast during the month of Ramadan. Afterwards, a group of poets read their latest works during the meeting, which was also attended by a number of Persian-speaking poets from Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, India and Russia.