July 15, 2020
Dear Friends of the Persian garden,
Our second poem comes from Diana and Fred Elghanayan, who were inspired by two moments in the lives of women in history. Diana writes:
My search for a Persian poem to celebrate Untermyer Gardens was a bit like cracking a safe. The tumblers fell into place with this poem, the earliest known work of a woman named Rabe’eh, from the 10th century.
The poem is a Baharieh, a category of Persian poetry still used to welcome spring, and it is set in a garden. It’s a scene of refreshing breezes and people drinking wine among the flowers, which we hope to enjoy again at Untermyer Gardens. It holds references to religions other than Islam without any implication of intolerance.
With 2020 marking the hundredth anniversary of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, Fred and I offer this poem in memory of Minnie Untermyer, a Christian woman who loved poetry, married to a Jewish man who championed women's suffrage and created a garden in the Persian tradition, where all are welcome.
Dear Friends of the Persian garden,
Our second poem comes from Diana and Fred Elghanayan, who were inspired by two moments in the lives of women in history. Diana writes:
My search for a Persian poem to celebrate Untermyer Gardens was a bit like cracking a safe. The tumblers fell into place with this poem, the earliest known work of a woman named Rabe’eh, from the 10th century.
The poem is a Baharieh, a category of Persian poetry still used to welcome spring, and it is set in a garden. It’s a scene of refreshing breezes and people drinking wine among the flowers, which we hope to enjoy again at Untermyer Gardens. It holds references to religions other than Islam without any implication of intolerance.
With 2020 marking the hundredth anniversary of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, Fred and I offer this poem in memory of Minnie Untermyer, a Christian woman who loved poetry, married to a Jewish man who championed women's suffrage and created a garden in the Persian tradition, where all are welcome.
Mani: a painter whose work was reputedly so true to life, one could not tell art from reality; he was also the founder of Manichaeism, a 3rd-century dualistic religion
Majnun & Layli: tragic lovers from 7th-century Arabic stories, well known to Persian readers
Raise up the wine bowl: early lyrical poetry referred to pre-Islamic traditions, such as drinking wine, without censure.
Nowruz: the spring holiday of the New Year from Zoroastrian times, perhaps the impetus for this poem, is still celebrated by Persians of every religion
Kasra’s crown: King Khosrow, whose “reign was remembered as a golden age of justice and prosperity.”
The Mirror of My Heart: A Thousand Years of Persian Poetry by Women. Mage Publishing, 2019. Introduced and translated by Dick Davis.
Majnun & Layli: tragic lovers from 7th-century Arabic stories, well known to Persian readers
Raise up the wine bowl: early lyrical poetry referred to pre-Islamic traditions, such as drinking wine, without censure.
Nowruz: the spring holiday of the New Year from Zoroastrian times, perhaps the impetus for this poem, is still celebrated by Persians of every religion
Kasra’s crown: King Khosrow, whose “reign was remembered as a golden age of justice and prosperity.”
The Mirror of My Heart: A Thousand Years of Persian Poetry by Women. Mage Publishing, 2019. Introduced and translated by Dick Davis.
We are happy to announce an opportunity to travel virtually to Persian gardens of the past and present. Stephen Byrns, the president of the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy, will deliver a webinar for the New York Adventure Club, “The Persian Gardens of Iran,” a study of gardens in Iran from the time of Cyrus the Great until the late 19th century, on Tuesday, July 21, at 5:30 pm. Persian carpets and miniatures will provide an interdisciplinary look at the gardens, including their impact on urban design, such as the city of Isfahan. The all-embracing and universal symbolism of a Persian garden will be explained and the connection made to Untermyer Gardens. Tickets may be purchased online for this event.
Kind Regards,
Kind Regards,