Most recent articles by Gerrit Wustmann
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Book review: Amir Hassan Cheheltan's "Der Zirkel der Literaturliebhaber"A literary cocoon
For decades, lovers of literature would gather at the house of writer Amir Hassan Cheheltan's family to debate classical Persian works – until politics forced its way into the readers' cocoon. By Gerrit Wustmann
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Book review: "Moon Brow" by Shahriar MandanipourThe angels of war
Over ten years after the publication of "Censoring an Iranian Love Story", Shahriar Mandanipour's latest novel, "Moon Brow", is now available in German translation. This is a story about the loss of youth, the horrors of war and a land in the iron grip of dictatorship. By Gerrit Wustmann
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Book review: Nava Ebrahimi’s "Das Paradies meines Nachbarn"The scars of war
War, escape, exile and the question of one’s own identity are central themes in Nava Ebrahimi’s second novel "Das Paradies meines Nachbarn". Gerrit Wustmann read the book
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Contemporary Iranian literatureReading 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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The maqamas of Ibn Naqiya in German translationThe picaresque poet from Baghdad
The "maqama", a classical Arabic form of prose-poetry, is still almost unknown in Germany – as is the name of the 11th-century Baghdad poet Ibn Naqiya. A new translation has the potential to change all that. By Gerrit Wustmann
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Interview with author Dogan Akhanli"The tradition of looking the other way"
Published in German, Dogan Akhanli's novel "Madonna's Last Dream" pays homage to Sabahattin Ali’s classic "Madonna in a Fur Coat" – as well as being a narration of the crimes of the 20th century from the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust through to the refugee stories of our time. Gerrit Wustmann spoke to the Cologne-based author
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Smear campaign against Turkish author Asli Erdogan"The things I didn’t say"
The Turkish author Asli Erdogan has been living in Germany for the past two years. In Turkey, she is still on trial. Now a wrongly-translated interview has triggered a smear campaign against her. Gerrit Wustmann spoke to her
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Interview with writer Guy Helminger about YemenNo ulterior motives, just tea
Since 2015, war has been raging in Yemen – a country about which people in Europe know astonishingly little. Cologne-based writer Guy Helminger visited Yemen in 2009, six years before hostilities began. He describes his experience in his book "Die Lehmbauten des Lichts" (Clay buildings of light). Interview by Gerrit Wustmann
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Released from prisonTurkish author Ahmet Altan and the power of words
The Turkish writer and journalist Ahmet Altan was imprisoned for three years and four months. He had always been outspoken and he remained outspoken in prison, where he wrote a collection of essays and a novel. He has now been awarded the Geschwister-Scholl-Preis for his tireless dedication. By Gerrit Wustmann
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Book review: Stefan Weidner's ʺ1001 Books. The Literatures of the OrientʺThe 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