TEHRAN – German author Martin Mosebach has praised Persian literature and said that Europe has borrowed much from the Persian culture and language.

The author met a number of Iranian authors and literary scholars in a session held at the University of Shiraz on Monday in collaboration with the German Embassy in Tehran.

He said that Persian language and literature is a rich language and literature well known in the world.

He added that there are many rich Persian literary works that do not exist in other languages like Arabic or Turkish, and this is one of the fine characteristics of Persian language and literature, a culture from which Europe has borrowed much. 

He added that he uses satire in his works, since it helps enter the lives of people through drama, tragedy, comedy or any other type of writing.

Mosebach is well known in the German- speaking world for his brilliant, cutting edge novels for which he received the prestigious Buchner Prize in 2007. 

The director of the Shiraz branch of the National Library and Archives of Iran, Kurosh Kamali Sarvestani, also attending the ceremony, called Mosebach a great German author who is highly interested in the Persian language and culture, and the great Persian poets Hafez and Sadi.

Several other participating authors also delivered brief words about works by the German author in their short speeches.

RM/YAW