A Step Closer

The international writers’ conference 2015 was dedicated to the novelist Navid Kermani, the winner of the 2015 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. As a religious studies scholar and orientalist, Kermani has been intensively involved in political discussions on religious tolerance and European identity and frequently works as a correspondent in the Middle East. He is known for his critical approach to traditions and his campaign against religious and cultural isolation. In his narrative works, he investigates the major issues of our times which are frequently based on his own family history and personal experience. During the three-day event, Kermani discussed the main themes of his literary oeuvre with guests from the fields of literature, philosophy and art history: the responsibilities and limitations of Europe, images of religion, the first-person narrator in literature, and the world in a state of emergency. Other participants in the discussion included Dževad Karahasan, Shahriar Mandanipur, Abdolkarim Soroush, Yitzhak Laor, Jurij Andruchowytsch, Mircea Cărtărescu and Ulrich Peltzer. The readings and discussions at the conference have been accompanied by a supporting programme of concerts, lectures, an exhibition and excursion.

Artistic director: Brigitte Labs-Ehlert
Author: Navid Kermani (IR)
Musician: Manos Tsangaris