On 19 February a presentation of the recently published book “The Persian literature of the 9th-early 18th centuries” by M.N. Reisner and A.N. Ardashnikova took place in the Biblio-Globus Trade House.
Written with a sincere passion and a deep knowledge of the subject, this research represents the first volume of the academic work devoted to the classical Persian literature of the Islamic period. The book was published by the Sadra publishing house with the assistance of the Ibn Sina Islamic Culture Research Foundation and the financial support of Mir Biznes Bank.
The event was organized by the “Khayyam” Cultural and Literary Association, whose president, O.V.Akulinichev, acted as the presenter. A.A. Lukashev, director of the Science Foundation, and a member of the Islamic Philosophy department of the RAS Institute of philosophy, candidate of philosophical sciences, spoke about the activities conducted by the Ibn Sina Foundation.
The presentation participants included the representatives of leading publishing houses, as well as Russian and Iranian entrepreneurs and diplomats. The event was also attended by such prominent figures as I.N. Morozov (well-known political and social activist, deputy head of the Committee of the Federation Council for science, education and culture, head of the Interparliamentary Assembly for connections between Russia and the Iranian majlis, candidate of legal and economic sciences, experts in international economic relations, author of several books);A.A. Sadovnikov (former Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Islamic Republic of Iran); Mr. Hazzar (general director of the Mir Biznes Bank company); Mr. Afshar (attaché for public communications and public relations); A. Vakhshitekh (chairman of the Association of Iranian students in the Russian Federation); B.S. Yesenkin (director of Biblio-Globus, vice-president of the “Guild of bookmakers” Union).
The event was also attended by those who contributed so much time and effort to this presentation, such as Mr. Hamid Hadavimogaddam (president of the Ibn Sina Foundation); Mr. Seyed Nasser Tabai (vice-president of the Foundation, general director of the Sadra publishing house), and, of course, one of the heroines of the day, Marina Reisner, professor of the Institute of Asian and African studies of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, teacher with a God-given talent, eloquent speaker, selflessly passionate about her lifework. Marina Reisner’s lectures on the Persian literature are so powerful, emotionally charged and professional that they keep everyone on the edge of their seats. Professor Reisner shared her memories about her teaching experience in the Institute of Asian and African studies, spoke about the history and prospects of the Persian literary studies and about her academic work dedicated to the history of the Persian literature of the Islamic era.
This book is truly one of a kind. So far, the Russian market has not seen such comprehensive and detailed studies meant both for experts and general readers interested in the Iranian literature and culture. This is just the first volume of an excellent treatise, so we expect to see the next work covering the period of the late Persian classics in the nearest future.
The event was marked by a wonderful performance a musical duo. Kirill Osherov and Dmitriy Ignatov played the Iranian national instruments — tombak, oud and nay.
This eventful presentation was held in the atmosphere of friendliness and sincere interest and was followed by a standing buffet for the guests. The arrangements made by the Biblio-Globus employees deserve a special credit. We are looking forward to the upcoming events and meetings!
