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The Hour of the Furnaces
Book by Golden, Renny
85 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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September 26, 2007
These are beautiful, sometimes breathtaking poems arising from the poet's experiences of accompanying Salvadorans working for social change amid civil war in their country in the 1970s/1980s.
Each poem focuses on one person or group; many of them were killed because of their defense of human rights and work for justice. Golden solves the problem of context neatly by preceding each poem with an introductory note, most less than a page long, informing the reader of the person's significance and explaining the events/terms referred to in the poem.
Martyrdom, of course, is a major theme. That's both a strength & a weakness. The only reason I give the book fewer than 5 stars is that it doesn't take up the tangled themes of racism & paternalism in North-South relations, even in peace/justice circles. It's a tad too hagiographic.
Still, I am in awe.
Each poem focuses on one person or group; many of them were killed because of their defense of human rights and work for justice. Golden solves the problem of context neatly by preceding each poem with an introductory note, most less than a page long, informing the reader of the person's significance and explaining the events/terms referred to in the poem.
Martyrdom, of course, is a major theme. That's both a strength & a weakness. The only reason I give the book fewer than 5 stars is that it doesn't take up the tangled themes of racism & paternalism in North-South relations, even in peace/justice circles. It's a tad too hagiographic.
Still, I am in awe.
Displaying 1 of 1 review