The reactions to the publication of Ayatollah Khomeini's poetry in 1989 led to a wide range of publications. In this chapter I shall outline how Ayatollah Khomeini's poetry was received differently by Iranians at home and abroad, analysing how interpretation and reception depend on time and place. While his supporters put all their effort into placing his poetry in a mystical context, his opponents started to de-mystify it. The poet Hadi Khorsandi's satirical poem in response to the publication of Khomeini's poetry illustrates how he uses poetry as a vehicle to respond to or criticise socio-political events. It demonstrates that poetry plays a pivotal role in the life of Iranians, both within and outside of Iran.

Keywords: satirical poetry, Persian kingship, Islamic governance, Iranian diaspora, mystical poetry

the mystical nature of the poem caught many, even among Imâm's most ardent devotees, by surprise. In one couplet, Imâm wrote, ‘Open the door of the tavern and let us go there day and night, For I am sick and tired of the mosque and seminary.’ The surprise is generated by the contradiction between the literal and symbolic uses of the images. Imâm Khomeini was a great supporter of the religious institutions of the mosque and seminary, but in the poetic genre of which his poem is an instance, the mosque and the seminary are symbols of insincerity and pretentiousness.