Adel Karasholi (Arabic: عادل قرشولي. born October 15, 1936) is a German and Arabic writer.

Life

Already a published poet in his youth, he founded a literary magazine in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

which was banned by the Syrian government. He then began working in a publishing house and, later, as a journal and radio editor. In 1957 he became a member of the

Arab Writers Union The Arab Writers Union (ar.: اتحاد الكتاب العرب) is an association of Arab writers, founded in 1969, in Damascus, Syria, at the initiative of a group of Arab writers including Syrian novelist Hanna Mina. In 2008, the union was mo ...

. When it was banned in 1959, Karasholi emigrated to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and subsequently lived in various areas of East and West Germany. In 1961 he began living permanently in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. He studied at the German Literary institute at

Leipzig University Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

where he did his doctorate on the work of

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

. From 1968 to 1993 he was a lecturer at Leipzig University. He is currently a freelance writer in Leipzig. Karasholi is the author of numerous essays and books of poetry in Arabic and (since the 1960s) German, as well as a translator of prose, poetry and plays between the two languages. His translations into German from Arabic include works by Alfred Faraq and

Mahmoud Darwish Mahmoud Darwish (; 13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008) was a Palestinians, Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as Palestine's national poet. In 1988 Darwish wrote the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which was the formal declarat ...

. In 1980 Karasholi became a member of the East German Writers' Union. Since 1990, Karasholi has belonged to the Union of German Writers and, since 1992 to the

PEN Centre Germany PEN Centre Germany is part of the worldwide association of writers founded in London in 1921, now known as PEN International. One of over 140 autonomous PEN centres around the world, PEN Centre Germany is based in Darmstadt, Hesse. Work PEN Ce ...

. He won the Leipzig Prize for Artistic Achievement in 1985 and the Albert-von-Chamisso Prize in 1992.

Works in German

* ''Wie Seide aus Damaskus'', Berlin 1968 * ''Umarmung der Meridiane'', Halle 1978 * ''Brecht in arabischer Sicht'', Berlin 1982 * ''Meine Geliebte kommt'', Berlin 1983 * ''Daheim in der Fremde'', Halle 1984 * ''Der Weinberg Erde'', Leipzig 1986 (with Joachim Jansong) * ''Wenn Damaskus nicht wäre'', Munich 1992 * ''Also sprach Abdulla'', Munich 1995 * ''Wie fern ist Palästina?'', Leipzig 2003 * ''Wo du warst und wo du bist'', Munich 2004

References

External links

Excerpt from ''Thus Spoke Abdulla''
in English translation * * http://www.fremd-sein.de/autoren/kara_1.html * http://www.culturebase.net/artist.php?826 * https://web.archive.org/web/20080724135936/http://www.karasholi.com/ 1936 births Living people German people of Syrian descent Syrian emigrants to Germany German male writers Immigrants to East Germany Academic staff of Leipzig University Leipzig University alumni {{Germany-writer-stub