The Literary Salon – Samar Yazbek: What’s next for Syria? With Guy Helminger and Navid Kermani
with Anja Laïs Larissa Bender Samar Yazbek Guy Helminger Navid Kermani
The surprising downfall of dictator Bashar al-Assad has fundamentally changed the situation in Syria and the Middle East. Author and journalist Samar Yazbek is one of the best-known protagonists of the Syrian revolution. Born in 1970 in the coastal city of Jableh, Yazbek established herself as one of the most important voices of young Arabic literature with her first short story collections. After the start of the revolution, she was targeted by the Syrian secret intelligence service and was forced to flee into exile in Paris in 2011. There, she was honored with the renowned PEN/Pinter Prize “International Writer of Courage Award” for her book “A Woman in the Crossfire: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution”. She subsequently received the Swedish Tucholsky Prize (2012) and the PEN-OXFAM Novib Award (2013). In her book “The Crossing”, she tells the compelling tales of her secret journeys into a shattered Syria. Her 2022 novel Where the Wind Calls Home is an artful, desperate outcry against war and forgetting. This story of the final hours of a young soldier in Syria was hailed by critics as “Samar Yazbek’s best and most beautiful novel to date” (SWR). In conversation with Guy Helminger and Navid Kermani, Samar Yazbek reflects on the latest developments in Syria and provides insights into the challenges for a region in upheaval. Anja Laïs reads from the German text.
Translation: Larissa Bender
Contributors
Anja Laïs
Anja Laïs was born in Berlin in 1968 and studied acting at the Otto … This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.
Larissa Bender
In process... This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.
Samar Yazbek
Samar Yazbek (*1970 in Syrien) studierte arabische Literatur,… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.
Guy Helminger
Guy Helminger was born in 1963 in Esch-sur-Alzette. He has won… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.
Navid Kermani
Born in 1967, Navid Kermani is an Oriental studies scholar and works… This text was shortened for this overview. Follow the more-link to read the full text.
Books
Event data
-
Date:
Wednesday
19. March 2025
20:00 -
Pre Pre sale price (fees excluded) 22 € | 18 € erm.
Eve Evening fund price 28 € | 24 € erm.
-
Accessibility
- Assistance dogs welcome Available
- Rollstuhlgerechter Zugang + WC (JAKI Club nicht barrierefrei) Available
-
Languages
- Arabisch
- Deutsch
