Hoeshmand Mahmoed

THE SALOON OF HAFEZ
A place to delve into. acknowledge and practise poetry

Poetry can enrich, connect, delight and abhor at the same time.

According to the poet Paul Valéry, humanity needs poetry in order to experience its emotions afresh and in a different form.

Hafez, the greatest poet and mystic in Persian history taught us to experience our emotions,
which are filled with love, lots of love, again and again and in a different form each time.

The problem nowadays is that this art form is becoming increasingly lost in society; the appreciation for it seems to be lacking.

The Saloon of Hafez brings the power of poetry closer to the people in Amsterdam.

Like a caravanserai along the Silk Road, dancing with the contours of the park, the Saloon of Hafez greets its reflection in the water.

This is the Saloon of Hafez, where the wine of love is poured.

This is a place for the community of poets, the poet is a visitor there and the visitor a poet.
This is a place to delve into, acknowledge and practise the language of the gods, this is a place for poetry. A place for you and me.

Low, between the birches, behind the brick walls, a labyrinth can be found with a thousand and one stories.

I come closer to the poet here, I become part of a continuous sequence: of a story in a story in a story.

Graduation committee: Laurens Jan ten Kate (mentor), Milad Pallesh and Abdessamed Azarfane. Additional members for the exam: Floris Hund and Judith Korpershoek.