Overview

In honour of Goethe and the 200th anniversary of the first publication of his outstanding poem sequence the West-Eastern Divan (1819), A New Divan contains outstanding original poems by twenty-four leading poets - twelve from the `East' and twelve from the `West' - and presents a truly international poetic dialogue inspired by the culture of the Other and Goethe's late, great work. The poets come from across the East - from Morocco to Turkey, Syria to Afghanistan - and from across the West - from Germany to the USA, Estonia to Brazil. Writing in Arabic, Persian and Turkish, and English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Slovenian, each pair of poets has responded to one of the themes of the twelve books of Goethe's original Divan, including `The Poet', `Love', `The Tyrant', `Faith' and `Paradise'. Working directly with the original poets or via a bridge translation the twenty-two English-language poets have created new poems that draw on the poetic forms and cultures of the poets taking part. Three pairs of essays enhance and complement the poems, mirroring Goethe's original `Notes and Essays for a Better Understanding of the West-Eastern Divan'. A New Divan is a life-enhancing, lyrical conversation at a time when understanding of the Other has never been more important. In celebrating Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, it also celebrates the art of poetry and the art of translation.

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9781909942288

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Reviews

https://www.ft.com/content/d49e3b78-86df-11e9-b861-54ee436f9768; https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/books/a-new-divan-how-german-writer-goethe-is-still-inspiring-writers-through-a-new-project-1.865626

https://www.ft.com/content/d49e3b78-86df-11e9-b861-54ee436f9768; 'a multilingual delight', Ruth Padel, Financial Times Weekend; https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/books/a-new-divan-how-german-writer-goethe-is-still-inspiring-writers-through-a-new-project-1.865626

Author Information

Dr Barbara Schwepcke is the founder of Gingko as well as the chair of its board of trustees. After receiving her doctorate from the London School of Economics she worked as a publisher for Prospect Magazine. In 2003 she founded Haus Publishing. Bill Swainson is a freelance editor and literary consultant. Since 1976 he has worked for leading literary publishers, including John Calder Publishers, Allison & Busby, Harvill Press and Bloomsbury, where he was Senior Commissioning Editor for fifteen years. In 2015 he was awarded an OBE for services to literary translation.

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