` W ASHIN G HY P O C RISY ‘ S D U ST ‘ : P E RSIAN P O E TRY AND P O P U LAR IRANIAN M U SI C – TAASA Review March 2012

Gay Breyley A prince and princess feasting on a terrace, From a manuscript of Hafiz, Divan, copied before 1717, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford Bring wine, that by Hafez’s will, from a pure heart, I may wash Hypocrisy’s dust, by the goblet’s grace (Hafiz 2001: 30) I n Persianate cultures, the various arts have maintained their close interconnectivity to a greater extent than in Western cultures.

Poetry, in its aural and visual forms, music, calligraphy, painting, metalwork, stucco, architecture, garden, carpet and textile design and other arts share crucial principles and, to varying degrees, are interdependent.

The importance of symbolism and allegory and the capacity to bring to life the past, with its contemporary implications, and to inspire love and devotion, through connections to others and to God, cross artistic forms. In this context, an ideal social and spiritual encounter satisfies all the senses...