The BBC has an article today called "Afghan Poets Tackle Scars of War," linked here.
The article writes, regarding the effect the war has had on the national literature:
"This theme of violence is playing out in other genres in ...[Afghanistan], such as short stories. But it is more visible in poetry.
"It is not the poets' choice to write about war and violence, they are compelled to do so - to express their reaction and hatred to bloodshed," says Darwesh Durrani, a popular [Afghan] poet and professor of literature in Quetta."
Additionally,
"Poets are inspired by what is happening in the outside world. Their imagination absorbs it," says veteran [Afghan] poet in Peshawar, Rahmat Shah Sael.
"That is why [Afghan] poets are writing about violence in one way or another."
One of the poems in the article is evocative of the violence and grief Afghans are experiencing. The lines are from Zarlasht Hafeez, "a female Pashto poet who has published a collection called 'Waiting for Peace'." Her lines read:
"The sorrow and grief, these black evenings,
Eyes full of tears and times full of sadness,
These burnt hearts, the killing of youths,
These unfulfilled expectations and unmet hopes of brides,
With a hatred for war, I call time and again,
I wait for peace for the grief-stricken [Afghans]."
It's unclear whether Afghan poets are publishing books of their poetry or reading individual poems aloud, according to local tradition. However, the feelings about war, grief and loss that they're expressing through poetry are an essential communal reaction, and will take their place alongside similar expressions from others who have experienced the pain of war. The right hand "sidebar" of this website includes a number of books of poetry, from this war and previous ones -- whether individual books of poetry, or anthologies of war poetry. For an index of material we've written on this blog about combat and poetry, click here.
Editor's note: The photograph, of an elderly man surrounded by villagers and Aghan National Army soldiers during search operation in rural Afghanistan, 2007, is by noted humanitarian photographer Zoriah. Used with permission. For more of Zoriah's work, click here.
