A Persian poet who worked in the ghazal form, Khwaja Shams-ud-Din Muhammad Hafez (c. 1315–1390) lived nearly his whole life in Shiraz, in present-day Iran. The name Hafez, meaning one who has memorized the Quran, reflected the classical religious education he received; he lectured on Quranic and theological subjects and wrote commentaries on religious texts. A court poet, he held the patronage of several rulers of Shiraz, though he fell from favor around 1368–69 and did not regain his position until shortly before his death. His collected Divan has been translated and reprinted widely since.
Who was your "gateway poet," the poet whose first book or poem made you want to write?
My gateway poet in Persian was Hafez. His poems were part of the landscape of my childhood. I still hear my mother’s voice reading his ghazals to me when I was very young and not yet literate.