my-server
← Wiki

Stefan Weidner

Stefan Weidner (born 1967 in Cologne, West Germany) is a German scholar of Islamic cultures, writer and translator. Due to his contributions to the reception of Arabic and other Middle Eastern literatures, the German scholar of Modern Oriental Studies Stefan Wild described him as a "leading mediator of Middle Eastern poetry and prose into German".

Life and career

As a schoolboy Weidner first travelled to North Africa and had his first experience with a Muslim society. He later studied Modern Oriental studies, German studies and philosophy at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, University of Damascus, University of California, Berkeley, and Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. Weidner is mainly known as author, translator, editor and literary critic of Arabic literature in Germany.

From 2001 until the last issue in 2016, he was editor-in-chief of the magazine Fikrun wa Fann, published by the Goethe-Institut and aimed to contribute to the dialogue between Western and Islamic-influenced cultures. He has translated numerous Arab poets, including Adonis and Mahmud Darwish. Since October 2012, Weidner has been a founding member of the in Cologne.

Weidner is a member of the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung and the writers' association PEN Centre Germany. Among others, he has written for the Süddeutsche Zeitung the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Die Zeit and Qantara.de.

His 400-page non-fiction book 1001 Buch: Die Literaturen des Orients has been described as an expert "walk through the centuries of the literatures of the Orient". Modern Oriental Studies scholar Stefan Wild commented on the book as follows: "Now, with 1001 Buch, he [Weidner] has succeeded in his greatest coup yet: an overall view of Arabic, Persian and Ottoman/Turkish literature from the seventh century to the present day."

Publications

As author
  • Erlesener Orient. Ein Führer durch die Literaturen der islamischen Welt. Edition Elene, Vienna 2004, (Literary criticism).
  • Mohammedanische Versuchungen. Ein erzählter Essay. Ammann Verlag, Zürich 2004, , 237 pages
  • „…und sehnen uns nach einem neuen Gott…“ Poesie und Religion im Werk von Adonis. Verlag Schiler, Berlin 2005, .
  • Allah heißt Gott. Eine Reise durch den Islam. Fischer Taschenbuch, Frankfurt 2006 (Non-fiction book for the youth)
  • Fes. Sieben Umkreisungen. Amann Verlag, Zürich 2006 .
  • Manual für den Kampf der Kulturen. Warum der Islam eine Herausforderung ist. Ein Versuch. Verlag der Weltreligionen, Frankfurt 2008
  • Mohammedanische Versuchungen. Ein erzählter Essay. Neuausg. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt 2008,
  • Aufbruch in die Vernunft. Islamdebatten und islamische Welt zwischen 9/11 und den arabischen Revolutionen. Verlag J.H.W. Dietz Nachf., Bonn 2011
  • Das Morgenland des Gefühls braucht eine Neue Sachlichkeit. Essay, FAZ, 14 January 2013,
  • Anti-Pegida: Eine Streitschrift. Create Space Independent Publishing, 2015
  • Fluchthelferin Poesie. Friedrich Rückert und der Orient. Wallstein, Göttingen 2017,
  • Jenseits des Westens: Für ein neues kosmopolitisches Denken. Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 2018, .
  • 1001 Buch: Die Literaturen des Orients, Verlag Edition Converso, Bad Herrenalb 2019, .
  • Ground Zero: 9/11 und die Geburt der Gegenwart, Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich 2021, .
As publisher
  • Die Farbe der Ferne. Moderne arabische Lyrik. C.H. Beck Verlag, Munich 2000, , 296 pages
  • Kaffeeduft und Brandgeruch. Beirut erzählt. Ein Lesebuch. Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt, 2002, , 314 pages
  • Adonis: Wortgesang. Von der Dichtung zur Revolution. S. Fischer, Frankfurt, 2012
As translator
  • Ibn Arabi: Der Übersetzer der Sehnsüchte. Liebesgedichte aus dem arabischen Mittelalter. Jung und Jung, Salzburg 2016

Awards

See also

References

External links