Flowers of Flame: Unheard Voices of Iraq

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The 2003 date of the U.S. invasion of Iraq marks the first of the poems. Poems coming after this trace the changing conditions in Iraq on an emotional basis. The American occupation, daily terrorism, fears for personal safety, and emigration are for the most not dealt with explicitly. Surprisingly perhaps, unlike many poems written under such conditions, these poems are not journalistic or political commentary in literary garb. Mostly, they express the Iraqi soul under the conditions of duress.Aiming for a collection representing the breadth of expression arising from the dislocations and uncertainties brought by the war irrespective of age, circumstances, political position, or place, the editors sought poems from all parts of Iraq and anywhere in the world in the case of poets driven or emigrating from Iraq. The difficulties of locating, getting in touch with, and then hearing from many of the 35 poets are noted in an introductory essay by one of the editors. This is not noted simply as a technical or practical matter in reaching the aim of such a volume, but also as a reflection of the breakup of Iraqi society.All of the poems "use the free verse form of modern Iraqi poetry." The translations from Arab, Kurdish, or Turkoman are fluent. The impulses are to express sentiments, not experiment with form or language. While many of the sentiments--longing, sorrow, sympathy--are universal and expected under the circumstances and the imagery of birds, fragrances, gardens, foods, etc. is simple and common in Middle Eastern poetry, the poems do succeed in conveying the particular experience of the Iraqi people. This experience has generally not received much attention amid endless media coverage and a number of books and movies on the war typically dealing with some American concern or issue. Here's a poetry volume which brings to awareness how the war has affected average Iraqis.

After reading this volume from Iraqi poets who personally faced the horror of unjustified war, I am amazed by the beauty and lack of bitterness within these poems. This is an example of how art transcends circumstance, and how suffering can, with the assistance of vision, treat a brutal subject with a wand of innocence and beauty. I highly recommend this collection, as well as the Iraq edition of the Atlanta Review, which overlaps with some of these poems, but contains many others you will not find here. Read them both!