Tehran- IRAF- Mohammad Kazem Kazemi, the well-known Afghan poet and researcher, in an exclusive interview with IRaf, emphasized that the concept of resistance today has taken on a civilizational character. He stated:
“In my view, we are now witnessing a form of civilizational resistance—a resistance against groups that are fundamentally opposed to this civilization. In this sense, any poem composed about the Persian language, its values, and its cultural heritage is, in effect, a poem of resistance.”
He stressed that preserving the language and cultural heritage against projects of erasure is the most important form of resistance in contemporary Afghan poetry.
He added: “One could even say that every poem written in Persian today, even if it is not directly about resistance or politics, represents a form of standing firm—a stand against the decline of this language, a decline that, unfortunately, some are deliberately attempting to bring about.”
Literature and Revolution: Driving Force or Post-Victory Construction?
Kazemi, referring to the broader relationship between literature and revolutions, said:
“Revolutions are generally an important subject in literature. When we speak of revolutionary literature, there are two possible interpretations: one is literature that develops alongside the people during the revolution and becomes one of its driving forces; the other is literature cultivated after the revolution under the new regime.”
Regarding Iran, he explained:
“In Iran, strong and influential revolutionary literature mostly emerged after the revolution. Before the revolution, at least in poetry, which I am more familiar with, there were few mature works capable of significantly influencing the revolutionary process. Of course, poets such as Hamid Sabzevari, Mousavi Garmaroodi, and Taher Safarzadeh had their impact on a smaller scale, but one cannot say they drove the revolutionary wave forward.”
Afghanistan’s Experience: Stronger Before Victory
The Afghan poet continued by comparing the experience in Afghanistan:
“In reality, in Afghanistan, due to the wars and crises that occurred after the Mujahideen came to power, the natural development of revolutionary literature in the cradle of the revolution did not occur. Before the Mujahideen’s victory, revolutionary literature was stronger—both in the works of the previous generation, like Master Khalili, and among young poets emerging in the late 1980s, inside and outside the country.”
He added: “In Afghanistan, revolutionary literature was stronger before the victory because after the victory many things fell apart.”
Comparing with other global revolutions, he said:
“I am not fully familiar with all cases, but from what I have studied sporadically, in revolutions like the French and Russian revolutions, as well as in Latin American countries, literature played a more prominent role.”
The Influence of Iran’s Islamic Revolution on Afghan Poetry
Regarding the influence of Iran’s Islamic Revolution on Afghan poetry, he noted:
“The poetry of Iran’s Islamic Revolution rests on two main elements: revolutionary spirit and religiosity—that is, a revolutionary drive shaped by religious teachings and historical religious events, particularly Ashura. This feature is also evident in Afghanistan’s revolutionary and resistance poetry, especially among poets nurtured in Iran or in exile.”
Kazemi continued: “The discourse of revolution and resilience in the poetry of Afghan exiles is closely aligned with the revolutionary poetry of Iran. The poetry of the 1980s by poets like Fazlollah Qudsi, Abu Taleb Mozaffari, Mohammad Sharif Saeedi, and others clearly illustrates this. Even those who later distanced themselves from this discourse shared the same outlook during that period.”
Formal and Neo-Classical Influences
He added: “Formally and stylistically, this influence is also visible. Iran’s neo-classical poetry movement, which incorporated revolutionary and resistance symbols, especially Ashura-related elements, is present in Afghan poetry as well. Many young Afghan poets in the 1980s and 1990s were influenced by Ali Moallem, particularly in using the long-metre masnavi, which was one of the important formal contributions of Iran’s revolutionary poetry, and several outstanding poems were composed in this form.”
Kazemi identified two main pathways for this influence:
“First, through studying the works of Iranian revolutionary thinkers such as Dr. Shariati and the Martyr Motahhari, and second, through the lived experience in Iran, which nurtured many Afghan exile poets with the same ideas and discourse that fueled Iran’s revolutionary success.”
Revolutionary Poetry, Resistance Poetry, and Exile Poetry
On the relationship between revolutionary and resistance poetry, he said:
“In my view, revolutionary poetry is a branch of resistance poetry. Resistance sometimes takes the form of defending one’s homeland against invaders and sometimes against tyranny and oppression by a ruling authority; this latter aspect is essentially revolutionary poetry.”
Regarding exile poetry and resistance poetry, he explained:
“Theoretically, these two are not necessarily the same, as exile is an independent subject. However, in Afghanistan, because part of the resistance was carried out by those in exile, and many resistance poets were present in exile, the two were partially intertwined. Still, one cannot say that exile poetry is inherently resistance poetry; this overlap exists more in the poet themselves than in the subject of the poem.”
The Changing Face of Resistance in Contemporary Poetry
In conclusion, Kazemi said: “With the fading of revolutionary discourse, both resistance and exile poetry have, to a large extent, weakened and changed in character. Of course, resistance still exists today—sometimes in the form of political poetry, sometimes as social poetry, particularly in support of Afghan women. But the most important form today is civilizational resistance, which has gained more significance than ever before.”
