War and Literature
Poetry
Dunya Mikhail: 'The War Works Hard'()
July 6, 2007 War is a recurring theme for poet Dunya Mikhail, an Iraqi exile who fled her country after being placed on Saddam Hussein's enemies list. Her poem "The War Works Hard" offers an ironic take on the meaning and consequence of war.
Somalia's Farah: Humanizing a Broken Place()
July 5, 2007 Nuruddin Farah's novels chart the slow, nightmarish disintegration of his native Somalia into the civil war-torn place it is today. Though he lives in exile, his native land is never far from his thoughts.
'Operation Homecoming': The Writings of War()
July 4, 2007 When editor Andrew Carroll first read Ryan Alexander's "The Cat," the startling imagery of the former Marine's poem took his breath away. After all, troops aren't known for readily sharing their innermost feelings — certainly not with a wide audience.
Ronan Bennett: From Prisoner to Writer()
July 3, 2007 Novelist Ronan Bennett endured two stints in British prisons before he ever imagined himself a writer. He rarely writes directly about the Troubles of Northern Ireland, but the struggle against British rule is a common subtext in his work.
'Ancestor Stones:' Life and War in Sierra Leone()
July 2, 2007 In a novel, Aminatta Forna writes about the effects of Sierra Leone's civil war on the country's women. She was just 11 when her father was hanged for treason in Sierra Leone and her family fled. Her story is part of a series of conversations about war and literature.
