Iranian literature

Topic: Iranian literature

Iranian-American poet Kaveh Akbar (photo: Gantschi)

Interview with Iranian-American poet Kaveh Akbar

Bridging the gap between outrage and fear

The renowned Iranian-American poet Kaveh Akbar writes in his poems about origin, religion – especially Islam, spirituality, the American dream and much more. Interview by Schayan RiazMore

Interview with the poet SAID: "I have defended my piety against the Islamic Republic"Book review: "I'm Probably Lost" by Sara Salar: Silent rebellion Artistic freedom and cultural policy in Iran: Art under divine dictatorship

Tomb of the Persion poet Hafez in Shiraz, Iran (source: Wikimedia)

Book review: Stefan Weidner's ʺ1001 Books. The Literatures of the Orientʺ

The Middle East – a rich vein of world literature

Recently published in German, Stefan Weidner's new book issues an invitation to all those who would like to be better acquainted with the literature of the Middle East – a profoundly fascinating journey through the works of Arab, Persian and Turkish authors. By Gerrit WustmannMore

Goethe anniversary: Orient and Occident Goethe and the Orient: Why did the poet's mind wander to far-off climes?Translations of classical Islamic literature: From the emotional Orient to the distortion of Islam

First edition of the West-Eastern Divan (photo: Goethe Museum in Dusseldorf

Goethe anniversary

Orient and Occident

Two hundred years of the "West-Eastern Divan": "North and West and South shatter, thrones burst and empires tremble" – why Islam is part of German literature. By Heinrich DeteringMore

Goethe and the Orient: Why did the , true to the writer's motto of "Crush infamy!", , true to the writer's motto of "Crush infamy!", poet's mind wander to far-off climes?Translations of classical Islamic literature: From the emotional Orient to the distortion of Islam Johann Gottfried Herder and the Orient: Faith as silent spirituality

Iranian author Amir Hassan Cheheltan (photo: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa)

Interview with Iranian author Amir Hassan Cheheltan

"Literature is based on politics and eroticism"

Amir Hassan Cheheltan has not published a novel in Iran in 15 years. The 62-year-old author does intend to refrain from writing either about politics or eroticism, as censorship in Iran prescribes. In Europe, meanwhile, his works are enjoying increasing popularity. Eight books by Cheheltan have already been published in German. Interview by Nasrin BassiriMore

Book review: Amir Hassan Cheheltanʹs "Der standhafte Papagei": History of a revolution Portrait Amir Hassan Cheheltan: A love-hate relationship with Tehran Iran and its authors: The perils of writing

Iranian author Amir Hassan Cheheltan (photo: DW/A. Amini)

Book review: Amir Hassan Cheheltanʹs "Der standhafte Papagei"

History of a revolution

Amir Hassan Cheheltan has spent years publishing articles and novels in German. His latest book "The Steadfast Parrot" has also been published first in German. Though the author himself lives in Tehran, the question remains as to whether it can be released in Iran. By Volker KaminskiMore

Iran and its authors: The perils of writing Portrait of Amir Hassan Cheheltan A love-hate relationship with Tehran Amir Hassan Cheheltan's ''Tehran, skyless city'': Reflecting the dark side of Iran's capital

Iranian author Fariba Vafi (photo: Nashr-e Markaz)

Book review: Fariba Vafi′s "Der Traum von Tibet"

Women suffering in silence

Fariba Vafi is one of Iran′s most popular contemporary novelists. Written in her unmistakeably lucid, almost simple style, her latest novel to be translated into German once again looks at the issue of female identity and the role of women in a changing Iranian society. By Volker KaminskiMore

Interview with the Iranian author Fariba Vafi: "Cliches have no place in writing″Fariba Vafi's novel ''My Bird'': The Iranian dream of emigration Book review: "I'm Probably Lost" by Sara Salar: Silent rebellion

Iranian philosopher Daryush Shayegan (photo: AFP/Anne-Christine Poujoulat)

Obituary: Iranian philosopher Dariush Shayegan

The science of balance

On 22 March 2018, Dariush Shayegan, one of the Islamic world's foremost philosophers, died at the age of 83 in Tehran. Without ever pinning his colours to any one religious mast, Shayegan sought out the commonalities between Islamic, Indian and Far Eastern spirituality and Western philosophy. By Stefan WeidnerMore

French philosopher Henry Corbin: Wherever the spirit guides Philosophy in Iran: Between critical rationalism and Eastern wisdom Obituary: Mohammad-Ali Sepanlou: A master of contemporary Iranian letters

Iranian author Nava Ebrahimi (photo: Katrin Ohlendorf)

Young Iranian women writers in Germany

Patchwork identities

In commanding language and without a trace of sentimentality or vanity, the second generation of Iranian women authors in Germany present the balancing act between Persian and German ways of life, weaving their parents′ lives into their literary material. By Fahimeh FarsaieMore

Book review: Mehrnousch Zaeri-Esfahani's "33 Arches and a Teahouse": A million butterflies in my head Interview with the Iranian author Fariba Vafi: "Cliches have no place in writing″Photo essay: 35 years of the Islamic Republic

Cultural anthropologist Zuzanna Olszewksa (photo: Artandconflictglob.com)

"The Pearl of Dari" by Zuzanna Olszewska

Treasuring their common Persian heritage

A book about young Afghan poets in exile casts a new perspective on Afghans in Iran. Marian Brehmer read the Oxford anthropologist Zuzanna Olszewska′s studyMore

Poems by young refugees: Holding back the tears Afghan refugees in Iran: Treated like second-class citizens Afghan refugees in Iran: On the fringes of society Photo essay: Afghanistan: the scars of war

Mehrnousch Zaeri-Esfahani (photo: Christina Laube)

Book review: Mehrnousch Zaeri-Esfahani's "33 Arches and a Teahouse"

A million butterflies in my head

In her book for young adults "33 Bogen und ein Teehaus" [33 Arches and a Teahouse], Mehrnousch Zaeri-Esfahani tells the story of her life from ages five to eleven: the beauty of her native city of Isfahan, her happy family life, the torture of living under dictatorship in Iran, and her family's flight to Germany. It is a book of poetic power without a trace of sentimentality. By Thomas LindenMore

Interview with the Iranian writer Abbas Maroufi: ″Self-censorship is the worst″Interview with the Iranian author Fariba Vafi: "Cliches have no place in writing″Book review: "I'm Probably Lost" by Sara Salar

Iranian author Abbas Maroufi (photo: Volker Kaminski)

Interview with the Iranian writer Abbas Maroufi

″Self-censorship is the worst″

Abbas Maroufi, born in Tehran in 1957, was one of Iran's most respected writers when he was sentenced to prison and a flogging for 'offending the fundamental principles of Islam'. It was only thanks to the intervention of the German PEN Center and the intercession of Gunter Grass that he was able to leave Iran in 1996. He has lived in Germany ever since. Interview by Volker KaminskiMore

Mahmud Doulatabadi's "The Colonel": Bitter reckoning with Iran's past Amir Hassan Cheheltan's ''Tehran, Skyless City'': Reflecting the dark side of Iran's capital Interview with the Iranian author Fariba Vafi: "Cliches have no place in writing″

Young Iranian women in front of a shopping mall in Tehran′s northwest (photo: Getty Images/AFP/B. Mehri)

Ramita Navai: ″City of lies. Love, sex, death and the search for truth in Tehran″

Where nothing is allowed, yet anything is possible

Survival in Tehran is a matter of lying and bending the rules. In the Iranian theocracy, real life is conducted in secret. Nadja Schluter reports on what else we can learn from the wonderful book on Iran, "City of Lies"More

Roxanne Varzi's novel "Last Scene Underground": Finding freedom in the catacombs Iran's stadium ban on women: Excluding the people Iranian cinema: Shining a light on inner conflicts Qantara dossier: "Women in the Islamic World"

Trygve Seim Ensemble plays "Rumi Songs" (photo: Knut Bry)

Album review: Trygve Seim′s ″Rumi Songs″

Musical wanderlust

Couching the songs of Rumi in free-form jazz is doubtless a daring undertaking. Yet, listen with an open mind and heart, says Richard Marcus, and you will find this album to be both thought-provoking and emotionally fulfillingMore

Album review: ″Sandaraa″ by Sandaraa: Fusion in the truest sense Album review: ″Abbar el Hamada″ by Aziza Brahim: The agony of dispossession Album review: "Alone" by Terakaft: The lions of Tamasheq music

The filming of Rumi

Everybody's darling

A Hollywood film project and a joint attempt by Iran and Turkey to register the principal works of the poet Rumi with the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list have recently caused political turmoil, above all, in Afghanistan. By Waslat Hasrat-NazimiMore

Sufis in Afghanistan: The forgotten mystics of the Hindu Kush The decline of Islamic scientific thought: Don't Blame it on al-Ghazali Sufism in Jordan: A prism of spirituality

The Iranian author Fariba Vafi (photo: Maryam Aras)

Interview with the Iranian author Fariba Vafi

"Cliches have no place in writing″

Fariba Vafi is one of Iran′s most popular contemporary women writers. She has already published many short stories and novels to critical acclaim. In interview with Maryam Aras she looks back over her own life and the situation of women in Iran following the Islamic RevolutionMore

Fariba Vafi's novel ''My Bird'': The Iranian dream of emigration Amir Hassan Cheheltan's ''Tehran, Skyless City'': Reflecting the dark side of Iran's capital Book review: "I'm Probably Lost" by Sara Salar: Silent rebellion

Bremen publisher Madjid Mohit (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/I. Wagner)

PEN Centre honours Iranian-German publisher Madjid Mohit

Taking ″aerial root″

Madjid Mohit was one of those publishers and literary figures to flee Iran and its strict policy of censorship at the beginning of the nineties. These days he sells literature with ″aerial roots″ in Bremen. He was recently awarded the Hermann Kesten Prize by Germany′s PEN Centre for his untiring work promoting the work of authors in exile. By Sarah Judith HofmannMore

Book review: "I'm Probably Lost" by Sara Salar: Silent rebellion Obituary: Mohammad-Ali Sepanlou: A master of contemporary Iranian letters Book review: Ramin Jahanbegloo's "Time Will Say Nothing": "The last stop before hell"

Topic: Iranian literature

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