Presence of the Representative of the Supreme Leader in Semnan Province and the Director General of Public Libraries at the Home of Veteran Author Professor Farhang Shokouhi
According to Khabar Online News Agency, Semnan Province, Hojjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Morteza Motiei, the Representative of the Supreme Leader in the province and Semnan’s Friday Prayer Leader, accompanied by Saeed Dehghanlou, Director General of Public Libraries of Semnan Province; Mehdi Shahab, Director General of the Social and Cultural Affairs Office of the Governor’s Office of Semnan; and Seyed Rasoul Mousavi Nezhadian, Director General of Culture and Islamic Guidance of the province, visited the home of Professor Farhang Shokouhi, an author and cultural veteran of Semnan, to honor and converse with him.
During this visit, which was also attended by Nasrin Gholibeik, Head of the Public Libraries Department of the city, Mohammad Moradi, Head of the Department of Library Affairs and Provincial Cooperation, and other cultural officials, Professor Shokouhi was honored with a plaque and a gift for his efforts and activities.
Farhang Shokouhi was born on May 2, 1938, in Nasar neighborhood, Semnan. According to Shokouhi, his father, Abdolhossein Shokouhi, had a great influence on his artistic taste, and he considers his father’s choice of the name “Farhang” (meaning culture) for his son as proof of his father’s good taste. His mother also had a long history in parables and folklore, which led him to learn many Semnani words, idioms, and customs from her.
Shokouhi completed his primary education at Saadi Elementary School and graduated in 1959 with a diploma in literature from Pahlavi High School in Semnan. He was immediately employed as a teacher in Garmsar. While teaching, he continued his education in Arabic language and literature at the master’s level until 1964.
In 1983, Shokouhi began his activities in the field of Semnan’s folk culture by releasing a cassette tape titled “Falgoosh.” The content of this cassette included two qasidas (odes) named “Ta ye Me” and “Boverd,” which were also published in written form under the same name “Ta ye Me” in 2009.
His achievements include collaborations with Jaber Anasoori (Shahnameh researcher, Iranologist, Iranian Ta’zieh expert, and Doctor of Philosophy), collaboration with Abolghasem Anjavi Shirazi (literary researcher) on radio, in the “Folk Culture” program. Collaborations with Sirosefar newspaper on folk culture, owned by Seyed Ahmad Vakilian (author and researcher of Iranian folk culture), and collaborations with Jomhouri newspaper, Kavir weekly, and Qoumes Culture quarterly, published by the Department of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Semnan Province.
The publication of the book “Nooroo” (poems in Semnani dialect), the book “Ta ye Me,” the book “Old Professions and Trades of the People of Semnan and the Country,” the book “Games and Entertainments of the People of Semnan,” the book “Semnani Vocabulary Norms,” co-authored by Mohammad Bagher Nayyeri and Farhang Shokouhi, the book “Molham” (Marham, a poem in Semnani dialect about traditional medicine of Semnan with an accompanying CD featuring the poet’s voice), the book “Hezar-o Yek Manzel” (One Thousand and One Homes, including one thousand and one literary, historical, humorous, anecdotal, advice, and wisdom points, sayings of great figures, etc.), the book “Semnan on the Apex of Ages” (introducing all historical monuments of Semnan city), the book “Koshen Masin va Kasin” (description of 83 notable and great figures of Semnan), the book “Bat va Novati” (a 5-volume collection of Semnani poems with an accompanying CD), the book “Yad-e Ayyam” (Collection of Persian poems from memories and occasions), and the audio collection of poetic debates (Moshahereh) for the first time in Semnani dialect are among the most important works of Professor Farhang Shokouhi.
