TEHRAN -- The second meeting on Persian literature was held in Istanbul on Saturday.

Several Iranian scholars including Hassan Hassanzadeh, as well as professors and students of Persian literature from the Istanbul University attended the meeting held at the Istanbul Beyazit State Library, the Persian service of IRNA reported on Sunday.
Mustafa Çiçekler, head of Persian Department of Istanbul University made the opening speech and gave a brief history of Persian language and literature from the past to modern time.
He went on to say that Iran’s classic literature is almost known by many in Turkey but people of the country have little understanding of contemporary literature of Iran, saying, “This is a pity. There has been a great change in the literature of Iran since the past 80 years.”
He also expressed hope that such meetings will help introduce Iran’s contemporary literature in Turkey more.
Hassanzadeh talked about the opinions of the experts on how to find the border between Iran’s classic and contemporary literature and explained, “Some experts believe Iran’s contemporary literature begins in 1921, but some say it begin with the time when a piece of poetry or prose was created with new and different view.”
“But most of the literary figures agree that Iran’s contemporary literature begins with the year 1921 and it covers social, political, and general issues of the day,” he added.
“In the years after the Islamic Revolution, words like freedom, martyrdom, dedication, and homeland entered Persian literature which differentiated Iran’s recent thirty years with the past,” he concluded.