West-Eastern Divan Festival

West-Eastern Divan Festival’s mission is to bring eastern and western cultures together in honoring two great literary figures—Goethe and Hafez. The 2009 inaugural edition will initiate the festival that will take place in Weimar each year with a corresponding location in an Arab country. The festival was inspired by Sams ud-Din Mohammed Hafez, the Divan of Hafez, the Persian mystic and poet born circa 1325 in Shiraz. His Divan collection poetry has been a source of inspiration world wide. Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832) wrote a collection of poems in 1819 entitled West-Eastern Divan, a semi Persian style of works. Renowned as one of Germany’s greatest poet and writer, Goethe lived in Weimar. The festival’s aim is to build cultural bridges between European culture and the Islamic nations. The program includes concerts, literary readings and art exhibitions. For more information about the festival in Germany visit
http://kadmusarts.com/festivals/5944.html