Haus für Poesie cancels the release event for Kontinentaldrift: Das Arabische Europa, edited by Syrian-Palestinian poet Ghayath Almadhoun

On October 12, Haus für Poesie notified Ghayath Almadhoun about the cancellation of the release event for his anthology Kontinentaldrift: Das Arabische Europa. The event was to take place on December 11. This cancelation was unexpected, since the author had received the confirmation just one week earlier.

Organizers blamed the cancellation on budget problems, but the timing raised questions, especially as other events featuring Palestinian artists have been facing similar cancellations throughout Germany. Almadhoun, who had already dealt with pressure and censorship during the anthology's editing, particularly concerning the poems that were written by Palestinian artists or that addressed Palestine, shared his disappointment on Instagram: "Ironically, I fled Syria in 2008 because of censorship."

Kontinentaldrift: Das Arabische Europa brings together the works of 34 Arab poets living in Europe. The description of the book by its publisher, Verlag Das Wunderhorn, reads as the following: "Oscillating between Arab and European traditions, they give a language to the experiences of war and violence as well as to the universal themes of literature, love, threatened and threatening nature, the fears, hopes and small joys of everyday life."