What do you think?
Rate this book
Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline
In Syria, culture has become a critical line of defence
against tyranny.
Syria Speaks is a celebration of a people determined to
reclaim their dignity, freedom and self-expression. It
showcases the work of over fifty artists and writers who
are challenging the culture of violence in Syria. Their
literature, poems and songs, cartoons, political posters
and photographs document and interpret the momentous
changes that have shifted the frame of reality so drastically
in Syria.
Moving and inspiring, Syria Speaks is testament to the
courage, creativity and imagination of the Syrian people.
A unique anthology providing a window into Syrian art and
writing since the uprising. Contributors include
internationally renowned artists and writers, such as
Ali Ferzat, Samar Yazbek, Khaled Khalifa and Robin Yassin-Kassab.
The book includes 108 colour illustrations.
against tyranny.
Syria Speaks is a celebration of a people determined to
reclaim their dignity, freedom and self-expression. It
showcases the work of over fifty artists and writers who
are challenging the culture of violence in Syria. Their
literature, poems and songs, cartoons, political posters
and photographs document and interpret the momentous
changes that have shifted the frame of reality so drastically
in Syria.
Moving and inspiring, Syria Speaks is testament to the
courage, creativity and imagination of the Syrian people.
A unique anthology providing a window into Syrian art and
writing since the uprising. Contributors include
internationally renowned artists and writers, such as
Ali Ferzat, Samar Yazbek, Khaled Khalifa and Robin Yassin-Kassab.
The book includes 108 colour illustrations.
328 pages, Paperback
First published June 16, 2014
27 people are currently reading
635 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 24, 2015
It took me a while to settle on a rating for this book. I actually didn't enjoy reading it, as I found much of its content disturbing and overly-immersive, in the sense that I am already surrounded by many who are directly affected by the Syrian conflict. Many times I found myself attempting to race through the sentences; to rush through the unwelcome emotion comfortably residing in my gut, somewhere betwixt horror and yearning. I was both inspired and repulsed.
What I found troublesome, perhaps ironic, was that many of my Syrian friends were unfamiliar with the artists presented in these pages. As much as those artists were Syrian, I found them to be generally affluent, western-educated artists whose creations were perhaps more easily translated to English and digestible by western audiences. But Syrian art is Syrian art, and I enjoyed the book's persuasive, arguable thesis: that art is a demonstration of power, uniting the diverse tapestry of Syrian identity in the human experience.
"By making art, the Syrian people demonstrate that they are in possession of the very attributes the regime denies them - agency, identity, diversity, intelligence, beauty and humor. These characteristics are all too rarely portrayed in mainstream international reporting about the country and the revolution. Art can be non-violent defiance. It challenges and undermines narratives of power, no matter where they originate." (pg. 232)
"If the regime doesn't manage to finish off what's left of Syria or feed the worst inclinations of Syrians more than has already done, then the cultural expressions that you mention will become a repository for Syrians to draw upon to confront emerging forms of oppression in a post-Assad Syria. These cultural works have been a source of pride and an indication of strong feelings of freedom and individuality in the revolution, and they share an unprecedented turn toward Syria as a nation. This is why we can say the revolution has established, for the first time, a uniquely Syrian national identity." (pg. 177)
In the words of Ali Ferzat, political cartoonist: "In 1980, I had a meeting with a former prime minister who said: 'Can we give you a salary so that you will stay and do nothing? Your cartoons undo all of our work on the first page.'" (pg. 169)
One artist who goes against the affluent grain is a very "local" poet, in the sense that he has yet to set foot out of his home town of Manbij and yet developed a cult following on Facebook. Aboud Saeed's means of interaction with the world is through releasing heartfelt poetry to an intangible, sympathetic audience. The lonely and relatable "home town boy" remarks, "Every night I dream I am Hannibal Lecter with the brain of the girl I love lying on the table in front of me." This statement depicts the caged reality he lives in, spent dreaming of a world outside his grasp; yet at his fingertips he finds respite in the freedom of his imagination.
Other favorite chapters:
Tongue-in-cheek puppet play from "Script from Top Goon: Diaries of a Little Dictator";
The elegant and intense imagery of art.liberte.syrie;
A fascinating essay, jam-packed with dense intellectual exploration of the concept of citizenship: "Between the Cultures of Sectarianism and Citizenship", by Syrian intellectual Hassan Abbas.
What I found troublesome, perhaps ironic, was that many of my Syrian friends were unfamiliar with the artists presented in these pages. As much as those artists were Syrian, I found them to be generally affluent, western-educated artists whose creations were perhaps more easily translated to English and digestible by western audiences. But Syrian art is Syrian art, and I enjoyed the book's persuasive, arguable thesis: that art is a demonstration of power, uniting the diverse tapestry of Syrian identity in the human experience.
"By making art, the Syrian people demonstrate that they are in possession of the very attributes the regime denies them - agency, identity, diversity, intelligence, beauty and humor. These characteristics are all too rarely portrayed in mainstream international reporting about the country and the revolution. Art can be non-violent defiance. It challenges and undermines narratives of power, no matter where they originate." (pg. 232)
"If the regime doesn't manage to finish off what's left of Syria or feed the worst inclinations of Syrians more than has already done, then the cultural expressions that you mention will become a repository for Syrians to draw upon to confront emerging forms of oppression in a post-Assad Syria. These cultural works have been a source of pride and an indication of strong feelings of freedom and individuality in the revolution, and they share an unprecedented turn toward Syria as a nation. This is why we can say the revolution has established, for the first time, a uniquely Syrian national identity." (pg. 177)
In the words of Ali Ferzat, political cartoonist: "In 1980, I had a meeting with a former prime minister who said: 'Can we give you a salary so that you will stay and do nothing? Your cartoons undo all of our work on the first page.'" (pg. 169)
One artist who goes against the affluent grain is a very "local" poet, in the sense that he has yet to set foot out of his home town of Manbij and yet developed a cult following on Facebook. Aboud Saeed's means of interaction with the world is through releasing heartfelt poetry to an intangible, sympathetic audience. The lonely and relatable "home town boy" remarks, "Every night I dream I am Hannibal Lecter with the brain of the girl I love lying on the table in front of me." This statement depicts the caged reality he lives in, spent dreaming of a world outside his grasp; yet at his fingertips he finds respite in the freedom of his imagination.
Other favorite chapters:
Tongue-in-cheek puppet play from "Script from Top Goon: Diaries of a Little Dictator";
The elegant and intense imagery of art.liberte.syrie;
A fascinating essay, jam-packed with dense intellectual exploration of the concept of citizenship: "Between the Cultures of Sectarianism and Citizenship", by Syrian intellectual Hassan Abbas.
Want to read
October 17, 201998p on amazon on 17th October 2019
October 16, 2020
Underrated book. A difficult read at times due to the subject of course but definitely worth to read and take a look at the visual art too. Even if you don't know much at all about what has been going on in Syria, some of the essays give enough info to appreciate the book.
May 25, 2015
Politics, religion, and geography of the Middle East are important, but
I think there’s a danger of creating an incomplete picture when these issues dominate the discourse and create the primary narrative we receive from the media.
I’ve also noticed that art is often portrayed as a response to cultural forces, an expression of “the way things are” in a very passive sense....but I think one thing the Middle East, in particular, can contribute to our understanding, is the use of creative modalities to initiate and express “what could be” through critiquing and challenging existing norms—a sort of reappraisal of the capacity of creative expression to initiate change. That’s an important distinction—the passive versus active responses—and I think the active approach to art in the region is representative of the way that individuals are exerting influence on their surroundings, both explicitly through political demonstrations, but also through their mindful approach towards the arts. Artists in the region have, and are, judiciously leveraging their creativity with fluency and skill. And I think an important mindset when entering this conversation is the awareness that we can and should go beyond learning how art functions regionally to considering what we can learn from its function here.
This book is full of examples--from cartoons to graffiti--that develop a more comprehensive understanding of responses and reactions from the "front line". I appreciated it and recommend it to anyone seeking to shape a more nuanced perspective of the uprisings and underlying perspectives.
I think there’s a danger of creating an incomplete picture when these issues dominate the discourse and create the primary narrative we receive from the media.
I’ve also noticed that art is often portrayed as a response to cultural forces, an expression of “the way things are” in a very passive sense....but I think one thing the Middle East, in particular, can contribute to our understanding, is the use of creative modalities to initiate and express “what could be” through critiquing and challenging existing norms—a sort of reappraisal of the capacity of creative expression to initiate change. That’s an important distinction—the passive versus active responses—and I think the active approach to art in the region is representative of the way that individuals are exerting influence on their surroundings, both explicitly through political demonstrations, but also through their mindful approach towards the arts. Artists in the region have, and are, judiciously leveraging their creativity with fluency and skill. And I think an important mindset when entering this conversation is the awareness that we can and should go beyond learning how art functions regionally to considering what we can learn from its function here.
This book is full of examples--from cartoons to graffiti--that develop a more comprehensive understanding of responses and reactions from the "front line". I appreciated it and recommend it to anyone seeking to shape a more nuanced perspective of the uprisings and underlying perspectives.
April 25, 2019
This book broke my heart and gathered it in so many ways. It took me long time to finish it as every time I picked it up I start remembering all the revolution details I tried hardly to forget. I remember all the pain and anger to the point I can't read anymore. I then miss Syria again and go back to continue. This book captures the essence of the Syrian revolution in a remarkable brilliant way between stories, poems, letters, photos and drawings. It's a very important rare book in the Syrian history and I strongly recommend it for anyone interested in knowing more. I personally bought it as gift for more than one western friend. Thanks to all those who contributed in it and freedom to those still behind bars.
September 17, 2016
The atrocity of the Syrian civil war Is depicted by haunting illustration of artists like Sulafa Hijazi. A must read
April 23, 2022
It’s often said, as a bleak, more than sardonic observation, that the forces of oppression might have won, but we had all the best songs…. Artist, writers, musicians and more have a long record of siding with, of being among, those seeking justice, and still they do (and some align themselves to the Powerful also). This compelling, in places difficult – harrowing and heartbreaking – collection emerged from the early years of the continuing Syrian struggle, when elements of the Arab Spring were still promising much and before the Syrian revolution descended into its full scale war by proxy between Assad’s oppressive regime and Da’esh’s own version of authoritarianism, both of which pushed the struggle for a democratic multi-ethnic Syria to the margins.
There’s a diversity of the written, reportage, analysis and fiction, with a bit of poetry and hip hop lyrics for good measure. This is blended well with the visual – with ‘high art’, protest posters, graffiti and digital dissent. These visual texts are witty and bleak, ironic, poetic, allusive and at times bluntly to the point – making some of them hard to stomach. The written work is most powerful as fiction. It has been said that in oppressive regimes like Syria the best place to find the intellectuals is in the prisons, and often these are people who have become analysts and intellectuals after imprisonment. Yet the prison literature here is brutal fiction – perhaps because it is too difficult to write as reportage. Even so, perhaps the most haunting piece is by the journalist Yara Badr about her arrest, her husband’s continuing detention and her memories of visiting her political prisoner father, who then visited her…. It’s a reminder that the Syrian frontline did not emerge in 2009/10, but has been round for many years and the struggle is a multi-generational one.
Even with the demands and difficulties of these texts, they are packed with hope and optimism, of courage and defiance, and of a struggle that was not over in 2014 and continues in 2022. There’s also humour and poetics, allusion and didactics and a sign that despite and perhaps because of the repression Syria has a lively and vibrant dissident life continually creating cracks in the edifice of Power – and even the smallest of cracks sustains hope.
There’s a diversity of the written, reportage, analysis and fiction, with a bit of poetry and hip hop lyrics for good measure. This is blended well with the visual – with ‘high art’, protest posters, graffiti and digital dissent. These visual texts are witty and bleak, ironic, poetic, allusive and at times bluntly to the point – making some of them hard to stomach. The written work is most powerful as fiction. It has been said that in oppressive regimes like Syria the best place to find the intellectuals is in the prisons, and often these are people who have become analysts and intellectuals after imprisonment. Yet the prison literature here is brutal fiction – perhaps because it is too difficult to write as reportage. Even so, perhaps the most haunting piece is by the journalist Yara Badr about her arrest, her husband’s continuing detention and her memories of visiting her political prisoner father, who then visited her…. It’s a reminder that the Syrian frontline did not emerge in 2009/10, but has been round for many years and the struggle is a multi-generational one.
Even with the demands and difficulties of these texts, they are packed with hope and optimism, of courage and defiance, and of a struggle that was not over in 2014 and continues in 2022. There’s also humour and poetics, allusion and didactics and a sign that despite and perhaps because of the repression Syria has a lively and vibrant dissident life continually creating cracks in the edifice of Power – and even the smallest of cracks sustains hope.
Read
August 14, 2025This collection was published in 2014, and reading it in a post-Assad Syria is a very complicated experience. It made me think about all the good and the bad of a revolutionary force, the limits of what art accomplishes, what organizing means. A lot of these stories express a very valid critique when thinking about Syria: it seems to have a crutch of only being understood in a geo-political sense, instead of what it means for actual Syrians living their day to day.
I can't say that this book gives much insight into Syria outside of Assad rule, and I find this an overarching theme with many anti-imperial writers who are also pacifists. There is a focus on opposition to a particular figure, whether that be Assad, Modi, Trump, etc., instead of the very real socio-political structure that gives these people power. Failure to recognize that and actively destroy it gives way for what has come to pass in Syria: Al-Qaeda style rule. There was a brushing aside of certain claims made about the real threat of Israel, which can make pro-Assadists feel quite vindicated due to what has happened in the months following his fall. But then there are the countless testimonies of suffering under Assad's rule that should make it impossible to have anyone be a "supporter" or apologist.
I enjoyed learning about Top Goon and the art showcased here, but I am still left rather frustrated. (Also, why do I find Khaled Khalifa so unreadable???)
I can't say that this book gives much insight into Syria outside of Assad rule, and I find this an overarching theme with many anti-imperial writers who are also pacifists. There is a focus on opposition to a particular figure, whether that be Assad, Modi, Trump, etc., instead of the very real socio-political structure that gives these people power. Failure to recognize that and actively destroy it gives way for what has come to pass in Syria: Al-Qaeda style rule. There was a brushing aside of certain claims made about the real threat of Israel, which can make pro-Assadists feel quite vindicated due to what has happened in the months following his fall. But then there are the countless testimonies of suffering under Assad's rule that should make it impossible to have anyone be a "supporter" or apologist.
I enjoyed learning about Top Goon and the art showcased here, but I am still left rather frustrated. (Also, why do I find Khaled Khalifa so unreadable???)
September 1, 2024
Utterly remarkable collection of different media--art, writing (of course), even satire directed at Bashar al-Assad. I've read piercing work from Samar Yazbek, Kassem Eid, Khalid Khalifa, and others, and, for all their moving observation and language, they can't change the bitter trajectory of their nation's recent history. This volume (perhaps because it comes from a number of artists working in different media, because the written pieces are shorter, and probably because it captures an earlier phase of the rebellion conveys the spirit and heart of the Syrian people, makes them look broad and enduring, and somehow, despite the circumstances, hopeful. The short-term outlook may be dire, "Syria Speaks" seems to say, but, sooner or later--no doubt, later--the Syrians are as a people vibrant enough to find a way forward.
July 18, 2017
Halasa follows the stories of Syrians through the atrocities since the Revolution began in March 2011 resulting from the downward spiral of cultural conflict, and the emergence of armed Muslim groups. Bashar al-Asad's regime saw this as a great threat against their reign, responding with brute military force displacing millions of Syrians.
Cultural differences are what ignited this conflict, but they are also what bring us hope. The governments attempts to thwart journalism and social media have failed. The millions of marginalized people have found this common ground, and may overcome cultural barriers to find resolve. The truth is prevailing, and Syrians standing their ground are the backbone of the resistance.
Cultural differences are what ignited this conflict, but they are also what bring us hope. The governments attempts to thwart journalism and social media have failed. The millions of marginalized people have found this common ground, and may overcome cultural barriers to find resolve. The truth is prevailing, and Syrians standing their ground are the backbone of the resistance.
December 15, 2024
Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline
Edited by Malu Halasa, Zaher Omareen & Nawara Mahfoud
This book is excellent. I have so many highlights. Personally I gravitated towards poetry, short stories, and graphical art. But everything was really good.
This is one of my favorite highlights:
“The barriers of fear were collapsing, and the doors of the Kingdom of Silence were flung open.”
Zaher Omareen
Edited by Malu Halasa, Zaher Omareen & Nawara Mahfoud
This book is excellent. I have so many highlights. Personally I gravitated towards poetry, short stories, and graphical art. But everything was really good.
This is one of my favorite highlights:
“The barriers of fear were collapsing, and the doors of the Kingdom of Silence were flung open.”
Zaher Omareen
June 3, 2018
Affecting collection from this troubled country.
March 8, 2017
art and activism from the front lines.
lots and lots of important takeaways:
1) assad is the enemy; isis is a joke, if even mentioned.
2) the enforced silence/censorship following the 1982 hama uprising/massacre has had serious implications, effectively stunting political and artistic language; the flowering post-2011 has been necessarily experimental.
3) following from that: not all of the stuff in this book is what one would call great, but it's all incredibly interesting.
4) following from THAT: love seeing "imperfect cinema" referenced.
5) watched the white helmets documentary the other day: read this instead.
6) the art is, of course, largely public/popular: cartoons, stencils/graffiti, film/youtube videos, puppets. some literature (which is pretty interesting if enigmatic, they compare it to faulkner which is pretty apt; blasim is punchier with similar substance).
7) effective way to get up to date on certain key points of recent syrian history "from the bottom."
8) following from that: the prison looms large in the syrian psyche.
yes, tremendous.
lots and lots of important takeaways:
1) assad is the enemy; isis is a joke, if even mentioned.
2) the enforced silence/censorship following the 1982 hama uprising/massacre has had serious implications, effectively stunting political and artistic language; the flowering post-2011 has been necessarily experimental.
3) following from that: not all of the stuff in this book is what one would call great, but it's all incredibly interesting.
4) following from THAT: love seeing "imperfect cinema" referenced.
5) watched the white helmets documentary the other day: read this instead.
6) the art is, of course, largely public/popular: cartoons, stencils/graffiti, film/youtube videos, puppets. some literature (which is pretty interesting if enigmatic, they compare it to faulkner which is pretty apt; blasim is punchier with similar substance).
7) effective way to get up to date on certain key points of recent syrian history "from the bottom."
8) following from that: the prison looms large in the syrian psyche.
yes, tremendous.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2016
This was a hard book to read. It is filled with personal stories, poems, art and even finger puppet plays from the revolutionaries of Syria. My understanding of Syrian culture and history, both political and cultural, was severely lacking. Syrians have been repressed, tortured and killed for generations. This war is only the newest occurrence. And hopefully the last.
If you want a better understanding of both Syria and the role art plays during times of war, then read this book.
If you want a better understanding of both Syria and the role art plays during times of war, then read this book.
July 1, 2016
I'm speechless. Brought me to tears. Not because of all the mizery and the war but as told by A.L.Kennedy; because of the wise, outrageous, imaginative and beautiful response to all that's ugly in human behaviour. Moved me in so many aspects.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews