Today in our poetry news roundup, we take a look at the National day dedicated to the poet Sadi. We also have an interesting article about the spelling of William Shakespeare’s name and how it has changed over the years.

National Day of the Poet Sadi

On Sunday aficionados of Persian literature and literati came together at the mausoleum of the poet Sadi, which is located in Shiraz Iran, to celebrate “Sadi National Day”.

A speech was delivered by Kurosh Kamali Sarvestani, the director for the Centre of the Study of Sadi. This was followed a recitation of some of the poet’s work, and there was also an exhibition of documents and photos on display together with works of calligraphy.

In addition, a number of academic sessions on the works of Sadi were organised at the Fars National Library and Archives which is also located in Shiraz

As part of the celebrations of Sadi’s life, a conference was organised to discuss the affinities between the leading German poet and dramatist Friedrich Schiller and Sadi. This took place in Tehran’s Institute of Book City.

Born in 1184, the Sheikh, who is named Muslih od-Din Sadi Shirazi was considered to be amongst the most influential Persian poets of the medieval era. In addition to being famous in Persian speaking countries, he has also been widely quoted in western sources as well. He is exceptionally well known for his two books Rose Garden(Gulistan) and The Orchard (Bustan) . 

How do you Spell Shakespeare?

According to not one, but six uncovered signatures penned by the bard himself, we may very well have been spelling William Shakespeare’s surname wrong!

Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare is regarded as one of the greatest writers of the English language. He wrote 39 plays and at least 156 poems before his death at the age of 52. A number of documents that were unearthed on the anniversary of his death indicate that his name may actually have been spelt incorrectly all this time.

The six signatures in question are dated from between 1612 and 1616, and they show a number of variations of both his first name and surname. One of the signatures is from a legal lawsuit case and is from May 1612, another relates to the purchase of a property in Blackfriars, London which took place in March 1613, and the third relates to the mortgage application for the same property.

The final three signatures have been found in his will which was dated March 25^th 1616.

The variations of his name include Willm Shakp, William Shaksper, Wm Shakspe, William Shakspere, Willm Shakspere and William Shakspeare. While it was common practice to abbreviate a name at this time, there are some differences in the spellings that have people wondering.

The spelling “Shakespeare” was popular during the 18^th century, “Shakspere” was a popular choice in the 19^th century as it had appeared on a number of the poet’s manuscripts. The name as we know it today was not introduced until the mid-20^th century.