Lite(IR)ania – a reading with Kurt Scharf

On Thursday, September 24th, 2020, we will continue the series of “Lite(IR)ania” evenings with another reading as part of a moderated conversation.

This time we have the editor and translator Kurt SCHARF as our guest, with whom we want to talk about the topic: “Stop the night until the wine - the golden age of Persian poetry as a cultural mediator”.

Kurt Scharf is one of the most renowned and brilliant translators of classical Persian poetry (Hafez, Rumi) and also modern Persian poetry and prose literature. From 1973 to 1979 he was head of the language department at the Goethe Institute in Tehran and held many other (management) positions at the Goethe Institutes in Porto Alegre, Istanbul and Lisbon and also translated literature from Spanish and Portuguese.

In the anthology of the same name “Stop in the Night Until the Wine”, which was published by Sujet-Verlag in 2019, he presents a selection of the most beautiful Persian poems from the 20th century. He will recite some poems from the book and we will We will then talk together about the central function of literature, poetry and prose in their role as mediators between cultures and about their universal significance. People from different cultures often talk about literature and literary representations.

This online event is moderated by the journalist Susan ZARE from Cologne. The current crisis is forcing us to forego face-to-face events; But it also creates opportunities for people from different regions across the country to come together. The reading and the conversation are in German.

If you would like to join in the discussion about this topic or just listen, please register at events@iranischegemeinde.de by September 21st, 2020. You will then receive a link with which you can join our digital meeting from 5:45 p.m. You are welcome to forward this invitation to your networks.

The plan is to produce this event as a podcast for listening afterwards.

We look forward to your participation.

Dirk Tröndle