Paradigm Poetry: The Capricious German Gaze on Arabic Literatures
Lecture and Conversation

At least since the 18th century, Arabic literature—as well as other literatures from the Islamic world, especially Persian—has played a significant role in the evolution and self-concept of European literature, and of German literature in particular. While religion, philology, and colonialism are among the crucial factors of this development, the way writers have responded to them has been varied, and initially was quite positive. As Stefan Weidner points out on the example of early Arabic poetry, this response was expressed in numerous translations and adaptations. In the second half of the 19th century, this development came to an abrupt end. It is only since Reunification in 1989–90 that a wider interest in Arabic literature has once again emerged in Germany.

In his lecture, Stefan Weidner explores the multifaceted reception of Arabic literature over time and poses the question to what extent matters of political stance and worldview have played a role, while also asking whether Arabic literature has ever been perceived as such, i.e., as one “literature” among other (European) ones. The lecture closes with a fresh look at ancient Arabic poetry as a paradigm for this development.

Stefan Weidner is a writer, scholar of Arabic literature and culture, and translator based in Cologne. From 2001 to 2016 he was editor-in-chief of the German-Arabic arts journal Fikrun wa Fann/Art & Thought, published by the Goethe Institute. Among his most recent books are Der arabische Diwan (2024), 9/11 und die Geburt der Gegenwart (2021), and 1001 Buch: Die Literaturen des Orients (2019). He is a member of the German Academy for Language and Literature and among other honors received the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding (Qatar 2018).

Presented in German