The latest cultural headlines in the media.

Iran unveils plaque of UNESCO World Heritage List on Naqqali

Presstv: The dedicated plaque of UNESCO World Heritage List on the Persian art of storytelling, Naqqali, has been unveiled during a ceremony in the Iranian city of Tous.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad along with a number of officials attended the ceremony held on May 14, 2012 in honoring the epic poet Ferdowsi.

About 150 prominent artists in Naqqali along with several Persian literature Professors and scholars from Tajikistan attended the ceremony held at the Ferdowsi tomb in Tous.

Naqqali is a style of storytelling in Persian literature dedicated to epic stories from Ferdowsi’s masterpiece The Shahnameh.

Ferdowsi’s worldly known book, The Shahnameh (Letter of the Kings), is a classic among epic Persian poetry and recounts Iran's mythical and historical past.

Dating back to the Safavid Dynasty, Naqqali is performed in verse or prose with a single person playing the roles of all characters with a special tone and expression.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) registered Naqqali, as the oldest form of dramatic performance in Iran, on its World Intangible Cultural Heritage List in November, 2011.

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Persian Literary Figure Dies

Iran Daily: Iranian literary figure Hassan Ahmadi Givi died Tuesday morning aged 85.
According to IRNA, Givi died of a heart attack at his home.
Born in Khalkhal, Ardabil provine, Givi was a great researcher on Persian language and literature. He contributed to Dehkhoda Lexicon Institute. ‘The Historical Grammar of Persian Verb’ is among his best known works.
A funeral is scheduled on May 17.

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Crossword-Writer Accused Of Hiding Coded Murder Message

Iran Daily: Venezuelan intelligence agents have arrested a veteran crossword-writer for hiding a coded message to assassinate President Hugo Chavez’s brother.
Neptali Segovia was interviewed after a state TV pundit said he had disguised a message in a crossword to kill Chavez’s brother, Adan, Presstv reported.
“These sorts of messages were used a lot in World War Two,” the pundit, Perez Pirela, said on live television.
Pirela said a group of experts, including mathematicians and psychologists, had broken the coded message hid in the Spanish-language crossword.
According to Segovia’s paper Ultimas Noticias, six Venezuelan intelligence officers had visited the newspaper’s editorial offices on Thursday asking for information about Segovia.
“I am the first to want to clarify this. I have nothing to hide because the work I have been doing for the last 17 years has only a cultural and education intention, and is transparent,” Segovia was quoted as saying.
“I was treated respectfully. They took down my comments and made a routine summary. Then they took me home.”

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Iranians Celebrate Int’l Listing of Naqqali

Iran Daily: A ceremony was held on Monday in Tous, Khorasan Razavi province, to celebrate the global registration of Naqqali (Iran’s dramatic story telling).
The ceremony was attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who recently paid a provincial visit to Khorasan Razavi, and a number of senior officials from Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization.
Monday marked the birth anniversary of eminent Iranian poet Ferdowsi, the writer of the epic poem Shahnameh (Grand Book).
Naqqali was registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage List last year as an Iranian spiritual heritage.
The dramatic performance of Naqqali has long played an important role in Iranian society, from the courts to the villages.
The performer--the Naqqal--recounts stories (mainly from Shahnameh) in verse or prose accompanied by dramatic gestures and movements, and sometimes instrumental music and painted scrolls.
Both entertainers and bearers of Persian literature and culture, Naqqals need to be acquainted with local cultural expressions, languages and dialects, as well as traditional music.
Naqqali requires considerable talent, a strong retentive memory and the ability to improvise to captivate the audience. 

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