Poets should address people’s real concerns more than ever before

According to Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), Mohammad Kazem Kazemi, in an interview with the news headquarters of the 33rd Islamic Republic of Iran Book Week, discussed the position of ‘poetry’ in cultural events. He stated that this issue is somewhat related to the difference in societies’ approach to poetry. Poetry, which once held an undisputed position among various arts, no longer has that comprehensive status today. Previously, Persian poetry took on the task of education, played the role of storytelling, and served a media function. Now, other arts and literary genres have taken on these roles, resulting in a slightly diminished role for poetry.

He added that poetry still maintains a widespread presence in the minds and souls of humans, especially Persian speakers. In many of the areas mentioned earlier, poetry can still act as an effective source in content production. For example, music still needs poetry, and even urban advertising can utilize the capacity of poetry.

The poet of the book “Eight Rivers” continued by noting a perceptible lack of attention towards poetry. Part of this issue, he believes, stems from the neglect of cultural institutions that fail to establish a proper balance between various arts and different branches of literature in their planning. He highlighted that the social and cultural return of poetry is very high compared to the cost spent on it. For instance, the entire budget for four seasons of the “Land of Poetry” program was less than that of a single lavish international conference, a feature film, or an urban event. Yet, with this modest budget, it significantly connected people with poetry through media.

Kazemi, in another part of his speech, referred to the inherent affinity Iranians have for poetry. He explained that many people desire poetry to be their companion in moments, to uplift their spirits, improve their mood, and consequently turn to poetry books. Through this, a reader who might not have been very familiar with reading gradually becomes interested and, from this path, explores other books.

The poet of the book “Sword and Geography” stated that a large portion of published books are poetry collections. However, he noted that the poetry book market is not very flourishing. He suggested that one of the contributing factors to this situation is poets themselves, who sometimes pay less attention to people’s main concerns and what they seek in poetry—issues such as the need for solace, peace, joy, or spiritual motivation.

Kazemi concluded by saying that if poems address people’s real concerns more than ever before, and if publishers, especially those with government support, allocate a portion of their budgets from other expenditures to support the publication of poetry books, poetry can achieve a stronger presence in people’s reading habits.

The 33rd Islamic Republic of Iran Book Week was held from November 15 to 21, 2025.