Pomegranates, love affairs and the countries of their mother tongue...
Pomegranates, love affairs and the countries of their mother tongue… these are a few of the subjects of literature and poetry from the “Axis of Evil” and other so-called “enemy nations” of the United States. Featured this past week at the San Francisco public library (main branch) through an hour of readings by local readers and writers. The program included a reading from local celebrity and award winning author, Alice Walker, as well as, readings from contributors to "Let Me Tell You Where I've Been: New Writing by Women of the Iranian Diaspora " edited by San Jose State Professor, Persis Karim.
Poems and essays from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, North Korea, and Cuba evoked a very “human” voice not as familiar as the rhetoric replayed in soundbites on U.S. television news reports. These talented writers each in their own way remind the audience that we are more similar than different. Our common humanity allows us to relate to the loss of a grandparent, the craving for a mother’s home cooked food, or the despair we’d all feel if we saw the neighborhoods we grew up in torn apart by war or devastated by economic depression and trade embargos.
The live event was recorded for public radio (but at this writing hasn’t yet been released). In the meantime, you can read any of a number of translated works on the WWB website. They are organized in monthly editions featuring one particular country, region or place at a time. Both the original text and English translation are provided.