Programme of the 9th international literature festival berlin 2009

Sun, 13.09. at 11 am, Haus der Berliner Festspiele / Upper Foyer
Focus Arabic World
Prose of the Arabic Peninsula I
PRESENTER: Günther Orth, SPEAKER: Frank Arnold
Youssef Al-Mohaimeed (Saudi Arabia). Al-Mohaimeed became famous in Europe with his début
novel, Fikhakh al-ra’iha (t: Wolves of the crescent moon), which was banned in Saudi Arabia. It is
an enthralling, poetic, and surreal story of three outsiders. His new novel Al-Hamam la yatir fi
Buraida (t: No pigeons fly in Buraydah) is about the subtle public tyranny of the so-called
“Committee For Virtue,” which stalks young unmarried couples in Riyadh.
Abduh Khal (Saudi Arabia). Khal is a master of detailed and complexly arranged observations
about his country. The novelist and essayist concentrates in his works on the overlooked and
neglected. The village is often at the centre of his literary work, a universal symbol of the traditional
Arab world.
Arwa Abduh Othman (Yemen). Arwa Abduh Othman weaves stories from the silken threads of
her childhood memories, inspired by stories her grandmother told her and the richness of the
Yemenite fairy tale tradition. In Shabbaik Labbaik a man marries a tyrannical dog who, it transpires,
is a bewitched young beauty – which does not necessarily mean that there will be a happy end.
Sun, 13.09. at 11 am, Maison Victor
Specials
The next Joyce will come from the Orient
Samuel Shimon (Iraq/Britain) and Stefan Weidner (Germany)
PRESENTER: Jan Valk SPEAKER: Oliver Führmann
Samuel Shimon was born in Iraq in 1956 and has lived in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia,
France, and today lives in London. The journalist is among the most important agents of Arab
literature in the world (including being on the jury for the Arabic Booker Prize). He will read form his
novel An Iraqi in Paris and talk with the translator Stefan Weidner about Arab exile literature.
Admission is free.
Sun, 13.09. at 1:30 pm, Haus der Berliner Festspiele / Upper Foyer
Focus Arab World_Reflections
What languages does Arab literature speak?
with Abbas Khider (Iraq/Germany), Leila Sebbar (France/Algeria) and Suleman Taufiq
(Syria/Germany)
PRESENTER: Stefan Weidner
What literary languages are there in Arab literature? Where does literature cross regional and
national boundaries? The Arab world in particular is characterised by migration and inter-cultural
influences. Immigrants, exile writers, Palestinians, the people of the Maghreb – the cultural
diversity within the Arab world is enormous. This is also reflected in their literature. This event
features simultaneous translation. Headsets are available in the downstairs foyer.
Sun, 13.09. at 1:30 pm, Haus der Berliner Festspiele
Focus Arab World_Reflections
UNESCO WORKSHOP: The Magna Carta of international culture politics
The forms of expression in the UNESCO agreement for the protection and support of cultural
diversity (2005) bring human rights into culture-politics. The goal is to set standards for the
development of culture and the interaction between cultures. Member states are required to put
political institutions in place which respect, protect and support cultural diversity. Authors from
various countries speak about the opportunities the convention has made possible in their regions.
Internal Author workshop in cooperation with the German UNESCO-Commission e. V. Closed
Event.
2