‘Goethe’s Divan for Divination’ is a playful artwork which takes a selection of Goethe’s romantic and colourful poems and makes them suitable for divination.
The book work was originally made for exhibition as part of a group show in Düsseldorf which responded to the work of famous poets, investigating them from a different angle. Goethe’s poetry (and psychically the ‘Divan’) has often been inspired by the work of the Persian poet Hafez, a writer who’s books are frequently used for bibliomancy (divining the future).
The book is intended to be a light-hearted introduction to Geothe’s poetry and includes the original annotations from Alexander Rogers’ 1890 translation.
Goethe is not an author I knew particularly well, so the exhibition provided a great excuse to get to know the work better. I particularly loved the connection between Goethe and Hafez, so wanted to draw a creative parallel between them. I hope you enjoy the experience of happening upon particular poems and discovering Goethe’s poems afresh.
– Chris
The current edition of ‘Goethe’s Divan for Divination’ is a paperback. An earlier pamphlet edition is also available from the shop and is featured below.
Goethe’s Divan for Divination
Goethe’s Divan for Divination is based on the West-Eastern Divan by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and takes a selection of Goethe’s romantic and colourful poems and makes them suitable for bibliomantic study.
Goethe’s Divan – Pamphlet Edition
Goethe’s West-Eastern Divan for Divination is based on the West-Eastern Divan by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
The book takes a selection of Goethe’s romantic and colourful poems and makes them suitable for bibliomantic study. The connection is that Goethe’s work in the Divan was inspired by the poetry of the Persian poet Hafez, whose work in turn is said to be used to tell the future.