Friends of the San Diego Central Library in partnership with the Persian Cultural Center and San Diego Poetry Annual, are pleased to host the city’s 4th annual Hafez Day, an evening of music, poetry, and cultural exchange honoring Persian poet Hafez Shirazi’s words of love, joy, and peace. Taking place on Thursday, October 12, 2023, from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. in the Central Library’s Neil Morgan Auditorium, the free and open-to-the-public event will highlight Hafez’s work as one of the world’s most beloved and influential poets. The evening will also feature refreshments and readings from San Diego poets and writers of varied backgrounds and ethnicities, inspired by Hafez’s enduring legacy.
“Hafez is the only writer to have his own holiday, based on the strength of his impact and his verse that reflects the best aspirations of people,” notes Zoe Ghahremani, prominent Iranian-American author and cohost of the San Diego Hafez Day Celebration. “It is a joy to be able to share this rich history and culture with the wider San Diego community and the countless international communities that mark this day with music and art.”
Michael Klam, Executive Editor of San Diego Poetry Annual and cohost of the Hafez Day Celebration, looks forward to the evening as “an opportunity to introduce some of the best poetry ever written to San Diego audiences and to hear from the many diverse artists performing at the event.”
Performers will include San Diego Poet Laureate Jason Magabo Perez; award winning artists: Kazim Ali, Carly DeMento, Adam Greenfield, Shadab Zeest Hashmi, Ari Hornarvar, Katie Manning, Jane Muschenetz, Robt O, Margarita Pintado, Gill Sotu; and the Namaad Ensemble of Persian Classical Music
About Hafez Day
Hafez Day, celebrated in Iran and several other countries on October 12th, honors the work and legacy of lyric poet, Hafez Shirazi (1325-1390). Considered by many to be the preeminent poet of Persian literary accomplishment, Hafez’s works continue to inspire devotion and adulation in fans across the generations. Learn more at Wikipedia/Hafez
About Zoe Ghahremani
Featured on WBEZ in Chicago, Voice of America, KPBS, Radio Iran, at the Iranian-American Women Foundation Conference, and elsewhere, Zoe founded and curates the San Diego Central Library’s Author of the Month program, is an active member of San Diego Writing Women, and sits on the Board of the Friends of the Central Library. She is a past Board member of San Diego Writers, Ink and the San Diego Writers and Editors Guild. In 2019, she was honored with a Community Leader Award from the San Diego Writers Festival. Learn more at: https://zoeghahremani.com
About Michael Klam
Michael Klam is Executive Editor and Associate Publisher of the San Diego Poetry Annual (SDPA). He coedits the bilingual edition of SDPA with Olga Garcia. Michael hosts Central Library’s Conversations with Poets series. He coedited the San Diego Writers, Ink anthology, A Year in Ink, Volume 6. His book, Emma and the Buddha Frog (Puna Press), was a San Diego Book Awards finalist. His most recent collections are The Cheapest Flight to Paradise (Puna Press, 2018) and Anything for a Dull Moment, (Garden Oak Press, 2020). Learn more at: https://poetryandartsd.com/about/
About the Friends of San Diego Central Library
The Friends of the San Diego Central Library is a member-supported nonprofit organization that advocates, fundraises, and provides critical support for The Central Library and related literary and educational programs. They provide the community with opportunities to invest in the success of the library as well as literary and education communities by donating funds or by donating time through volunteering. Learn more at https://www.friendsofsdpl.org/
About Persian Cultural Center
PCC’s core activities are multifaceted and include musical concerts, lectures, art exhibitions, dance performances, as well as language, theater, traditional instrument, and art classes. The variety of PCC’s programming draws a diverse patronage extending far beyond San Diego. We seek and welcome all members of the San Diego community and visitors to the City to enjoy and participate in our events and presentations. To this end our programs/events are non-partisan and secular, with artistic and cultural value being the ultimate benchmarks. Learn more at: https://pccsd.org
About San Diego Poetry Annual
For over 15 years, SDPA has featured renowned poets and artists alongside emerging local voices. Annually, 600 print copies of our publications (including Kids! and Bilingual volumes) are distributed in libraries, public universities, and public colleges in the greater San Diego County area and beyond. Learn more at https://sandiegopoetryannual.com/about/
