Adonis becomes first Arab writer to win Goethe prize

The Syrian poet Adonis has become the first Arab writer to win Germany's prestigious Goethe prize. The 81-year-old poet, a perennial favourite to win the Nobel prize for literature, was presented with the award by the city of Frankfurt on Goethe's birthday, 28 August. The jury called him "the most important Arab poet of our time", and praised his "eminent literary talent, his cosmopolitanism and his contribution to world literature". The €50,000 Goethe prize is given every three years on Goethe's birthday to an individual whose work reflects the spirit of the German master, and has been won in the past by Sigmund Freud and Herman Hesse, and more recently by the Israeli author Amos Oz