Beholding Beauty: Sa'di of Shiraz and the Aesthetics of Desire in Medieval Persian Poetry

Stanford Iranian Studies Program

Professor Domenico Ingenito discusses his new book Beholding Beauty: Sa'di of Shiraz and the Aesthetics of Desire in Medieval Persian Poetry (Brill, December 2020). The book explores the relationship between sexuality, politics, and spirituality in the lyrics of Sa'di Shirazi (d. 1282 CE), one of the most revered masters of classical Persian literature. Relying on a variety of sources, including unstudied manuscripts, Professor Ingenito presents the so-called "inimitable smoothness" of Sa'di's lyric style as a serene yet multifaceted window into the uncanny beauty of the world, the human body, and the realm of the unseen. "Beholding Beauty constitutes the first attempt to study Sa'di's lyric meditations on beauty in the context of the major artistic, scientific and intellectual trends of his time. By charting unexplored connections between Islamic philosophy and mysticism, obscene verses and courtly ideals of love, Professor Ingenito approaches Sa'di's literary genius from the perspective of sacred homoeroticism and the psychology of performative lyricism in their historical context." Domenico Ingenito is Director of the Program on Central Asia and Assistant Professor of Persian literature at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research interests center on medieval Persian poetry, visual culture of Iran and Central Asia, gender and translations studies, and geocriticism. His most recent articles are: "Hafez's 'Shirāzi Turk': A Geopoetical Approach;" and "'A Marvelous Painting': the Erotic Dimension of Sa'di's Praise Poetry;” and "Sultan Maḥmūd's New Garden in Balkh: An Exercise in Literary Archaeology for the Study of Ghaznawid Ephemeral Architecture."