A New Divan: A Lyrical Dialogue Between East and West

This collection of poetry and essays continues a “lyrical dialog” between the West and the Islamic world begun 200 years ago by the German poet and polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Captivated by a collection of poems by 14th-century Persian poet Hafiz, Goethe in 1819 wrote West-Eastern Divan: 12 volumes of poetry, with notes and essays, aimed at broadening Western views on the Islamic world. Two centuries later, A New Divan brings together today’s poets (12 from the Islamic world and 12 from the West) and six essayists, to continue the dialog Goethe began with Hafiz. The compilation explores the challenges of translating poetry, including the writings of Goethe, Hafiz and various Arabic poets (pre-Islamic and modern). English translations are furnished for poems in Arabic, Persian, Turkish and European tongues.
—Robert W. Lebling