Commemoration of an Iranian Poetess Killed in War

Tehran: A memorial ceremony for Parnia Abbasi, a young Iranian poet who lost her life along with her family in an Israeli attack, was held on Friday evening at the Iranian Artists’ Forum.

The ceremony was organized by Asre Rowshan magazine in association with members of the Asian Journalist Association (AJA), Congress of African Journalists (CAJ) and the World Poets Society (WPS).

At the beginning of the memorial, which was held during the Asre Rowshan meeting on the topic of “The Impact of War on World Literature,” Mohammad Tabatabaei spoke about the history of letter writing in modern wars, focusing on the love letters of soldiers and letters of partisans shot in World War II.

Fazel Jamshidi, a singer with the National Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra, also spoke to the audience about the mutual effects of music and society in critical situations, including wartime conditions.

Hamidreza Shekarsari, a poet and critic, also explained the difference between poems written during the Iraq War and poems related to the Israeli war. He emphasized in his speech that poetry during last period did not take on the color and flavor of slogans at all and was based more on feelings and emotions.

Then, Afsaneh Hossnieh read the Persian translation of the message of Dimitris P. Kraniotis, a Greek poet and president of the World Poets Society, to the meeting.

In this message, under the title “War in Poetry and Literature,” it was stated:

“Through poetry and literature, the battlefield is not only transformed into a place for conflict, but also into a mirror that reflects the deepest struggles of the human soul. Poetry and literature ensure that even in the darkest moments, the story of man is not lost.”

But a significant part of the Asre Rowshan cultural and artistic magazine meeting at the Iranian Artists’ Forum was dedicated to commemorating the memory of 24-year-old poet Parnia Abbasi, who was martyred along with her parents and 15-year-old brother in her home in the Sattar Khan neighborhood of Tehran on the first night of the Israeli attack on Iran. Parnia’s cousin read a text on behalf of her relatives, and Parnia Abbasi’s fiancé also spoke about her bright world and her own feelings towards the incident. His words about Parnia Abbasi, her university classmate, that she loved life but suffered such a bitter fate, affected the atmosphere of the memorial.

In this part of the ceremony, a video message from Lee Sang-ki, a renowned Korean journalist and founder of the Asian Journalists Association (AJA), was also broadcast and his message to Iranian poets and journalists was translated into Persian by Alireza Bahrami, a poet and AJA member in Iran.

In a message from Lee Sang-ki from Seoul, emphasizing that the name of “Parnia Abbasi” has now become immortalized as a poem and that her death was not in vain, it stated: “The death of Parnia and many other beautiful Iranian souls during the 12 days of war is not just a tragedy, but a serious reminder of how easily we forget the value of life and become indifferent to violence. But we will always remember them and in their name, we will speak again of truth and peace, seasoned with poetry and solidarity.”

After playing an audio message from “Ashraf Aboul-Yazid” – Egyptian poet and Secretary General Congress of African Journalists (CAJ) and Former President of Asia Journalist Association (AJA) 2016 – 2024

Bahrami also read the Persian translation of his message to the audience, which entitled (Parnia Abbasi – The Poet of a Bombed Dream):

“Dear friends, dear poets of Tehran, Today, we stand before a heartbreaking absence — one that words cannot describe, and poems cannot console. Parnia Abbasi was only ten days away from blowing out the candles on her 24th birthday, carrying with her a dream to become a poetic voice the world would hear. She taught English, and wrote poems in a silence that resembled the breath of dawn. Her verses were published just a few months ago, as if she were holding onto a thread of light in this heavy world.

But a missile of treachery fell, and she died before sunrise. The Zionist occupying state buried the dreams of a girl in the prime of spring. Let us all pray for Parnia’s soul, and entrust our hearts with a sacred promise: to keep writing, so that poetry is not bombed twice. Poetry does not die — nor do poets. I also hope that my friend Alireza Bahrami will share a selection of her poems with me, so I can publish them in Arabic in honor of her memory. Glory to life in the face of war.: “Parnia Abbasi wrote her poems in a silence that resembled the breaths of dawn. By publishing his poems in his youth, he seemed to have caught a thread of light in this heavy world, but the missile of betrayal landed and he died before sunrise… Let us commit our hearts to continue writing, so that poetry is not bombed again. Poetry does not die, and neither do poets.”

At the end, a group of poets from different generations of Iran recited poems and paid tribute to Parnia Abbasi and other martyrs of culture and art who were killed during the Israeli aggression.