In the blurb for his planned 20-volumeThe History of Persian Literature, thelate Ehsan Yarshater (1920–2018), a Nestor of Iranian Studies, characterisedPersian poetry as the jewel in the crown of Persian culture.1This is notan exaggeration; poetry plays a role in every domain of Persian culture. IfPersian culture is the body of Persian-speaking peoples, poetry is the soul,the stamina, and the…