Joachim Sartorius is a poet, translator, and cultural critic. He grew up in Tunis and spent twenty years in the diplomatic service in New York, Istanbul, and Nicosia. He was secretary general of the Goethe Institut until 2000, and from 2001-2011 hewas director of the Berlin Festival. He is the author of The Geckos of Bellapais and a forthcoming book on the city of Syracuse, in Sicily.
