Iranian literature
All topics-
Contemporary Iranian literature
Reading outside the box
Mullahs, dictatorship, nuclear conflict – Iran could be reduced to these keywords if one were to rely only on the articles in the daily press. But to really understand a country better, you have to study its literature. And Iranian literature is just as diverse as the country itself. By Gerrit Wustmann
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Book review: Shokoofeh Azar's "The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree"
Straight to the heart
With "The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree", Shokoofeh Azar has created a beautiful, sad fable set in a horrible reality. While there are moments of hope to be found in the past and in the realms of magic, they are fiercely trammelled underfoot by the cruelty and harsh realities of the world. Richard Marcus read the book
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Book review: Pajand Soleymani's "Immer mit Zucker"
Bittersweet life
In her novel "Immer mit Zucker" Pajand Soleymani creates a surreal world of cinematic images, intellectual discussion and dreamlike transformation. An unusual reading experience distantly reminiscent of the stories of "One Thousand and One Nights". Volker Kaminski read the book
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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 Riaz
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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 Wustmann
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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 Detering
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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 Bassiri
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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 Kaminski
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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 Kaminski
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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 Weidner
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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 Farsaie
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"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 study