Dr. Assemi's visit

During his recent visit to Hafez class, Dr. Assemi gave a talk about the philosophy of life (and death) as viewed by ancient Greek philosophers, such as Cicero, Democritus and Pyrrho, and classical Persian poets like Khayyam, Rumi, Sadi and Hafez, in difference to such lines as (see full poem including an English translation):

روزها فکر من اینست و همه شب سخنم     که چرا غافل از احوال دل خویشتنم
از کجا آمده ام، آمدنم بهر چه بود؟              به کجا میروم؟ آخر ننمایی وطنم

During the Q&A session, he was asked about German poetry and its relation to such themes as freedom, oppression and survival often seen in modern Persian poetry. His reference to Nazi-era dissident poets such as Thomas Mann, Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Tucholsky was instructive.

You can see a short video of the talk:


(or audio only below if you have a slow connection)