The exchange programme »westöstlicherdiwan« (West-Eastern Divan) has enabled new forms of intercultural encounters between a set of two writers each time. A total of eleven reciprocal author exchanges took place between 2002 and 2007, using a simple but effective framework: a German writer meets a colleague in an Arabic country, Iran or Turkey, who then returns the visit. Each time, they get to know each other within their own cultural environment, they travel through their respective countries, hold readings and write about the literature and the world of their exchange partner – each one in their own language.

In autumn 2007, the project concluded with the publication of a collection of essays and poems Zwischen Berlin und Beirut – West-östliche Geschichten (»Between Berlin and Beirut – East-West stories«, published by C.H. Beck). This includes contributions by 18 of the authors involved in the programme as well as a preface by Navid Kermani

The »West-östlicher Diwan« was funded by the »Berliner Festspiele« (Berlin Festival) and the »Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin« (Institute of Advanced Studies) together with other partners, and we would like to use this opportunity to express our thanks for their support. In 2002, the project received additional funding from the German Foreign Office, and beginning from 2003 through the Federal Cultural Foundation.

The aim of the project was to improve mutual understanding of the literatures of Germany and the Middle East. Naturally, the outcomes of the project were as varied and diverse as the authors involved, and, in addition to numerous newspaper articles and the collection of essays published in »Zwischen Beirut und Berlin«, five of the authors involved have also produced publications of their own following the exchange, in the form of three books in German and two in Arabic.

One of these is a book by Rashid al-Daif, published in Beirut, in December 2005, in Arabic. Under the title »The German comes back to his senses«, he describes his encounter with the German writer Joachim Helfer (Berlin). Key themes are the differences in gender relationships between Germany and Lebanon, and the way Joachim Helfer lives his homosexuality. The German translation was published by Suhrkamp in October 2006 and includes commentaries by Joachim Helfer, inserted into al-Daif’s text. This publication (under the German title: »Die Verschwulung der Welt« – »The gayification of the world«) triggered an intense and controversial reaction in both German and Arabic media, which is documented here (some of them in English and in Arabic).

Last updated: November 2007.