Korean and Iranian poets will gather at an event in Iran next week to recite and discuss each other’s poetry.

Three Korean poets Kim Hu-ran, Shin Dal-ja and Jang Seok-nam will be meeting with Fatemeh Rakei, one of Iran’s most influential female poets, and Mohammad Ali Bahmani, who has received both popular and critical acclaim for his works.

The poets will recite each other’s works and discuss the poetry and literature of their countries. Students from the University of Tehran will recite Persian-translated versions of the Korean writers’ poems. A Q&A session will also take place.

The event, taking place on May 2 and 4 at the Research Institute of Iran’s Cultural Heritages, Handicraft and Tourism Organization and at the University of Tehran’s Faculty of Foreign Languages, is cohosted by Korea’s culture ministry and Literature Translation Institute of Korea.

Korean and Iranian poets previously met in 2014 in Tehran as part of the Korea-Iran cultural exchange. Subsequently, in 2015, the Korean poetry compilation “Blissful Korean Dishes Seasoned with Poetry” was published in Iran, while Iran’s “One Hundred Years, One Thousand Petals” -- which includes the works of Rakei and Bahmani -- was published in Korea.

The three Korean poets will also visit the Hozeh Honari, Islamic Art and Thoughts from Islamic Propagation Organization to speak with other Iranian poets, including Alireza Ghazveh.

The LTI Korea will be participating at the Tehran International Book Fair on May 4 to meet with key Iranian publishers and pave the way for Korean works to be translated and published there.

By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)