Occupied

by Carol Mirakove

Poetry. OCCUPIED is a book of moral witness of the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A work of contemporary "poethics," it is both angry and thoughtful. Conceived as a book of poetry and record, OCCUPIED offers a Reference section as grounding for its emotions and its facts. "Carol Mirakove's poetry does its work not only through rage and persistence but also through tenderness. There is a love for the possibility that lies within language, a belief that rescrambling the channels can alter the extent to which we accept the administered language of the state and the media, sometimes even poetry, that suckersus into going with the flow, punching in, punching out"--Heather Fuller.

Genres: Poetry

52 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this with one tiny disclaimer. "Occupied" has its heart in the right place, and there are some moments of brilliance, but for me it frequently fell flat. I think it is partially that it attempts to approach the subject matter from often personal points of record (self referential moments of research or explication of the project) which produce a small amount of pathos for the author, which seems misplaced considering the nature of the subject matter. This is personal taste on my part; there is certainly enough going on here to warrant reading, and it is among only a handful of books on the war that come so close to doing it justice.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I wonder how many of us realize that ours is the only country to have ever actually used WMD."