Literature from the "Axis of Evil": Writing from Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and Other Enemy Nations

by Alane Mason (Editor), Samantha Schnee (Editor), Dedi Felman (Editor)

Short stories and fiction excerpts from Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Sudan, and other countries from whom the government would rather we didn't hear.

""Not knowing what the rest of the world is thinking and writing is both dangerous and boring.""--Alane Mason, founding editor, Words Without Borders

During the Cold War, writers behind the Iron Curtain--Solzhenitsyn, Kundera, Milosz--were translated and published in the United States, providing an invaluable window on the Soviet regime's effects on daily life and humanizing the individuals living under its conditions.

Yet U.S. Treasury Department regulations made it almost impossible for Americans to gain access to writings from "evil" countries such as Iran and Cuba until recently. Penalties for translating such works or for "enhancing their value" by editing them included stiff fines and potential jail time for the publisher. With relaxation in 2005 of the Treasury regulations (in response to pressure from the literary and scientific publishing communities that culminated in a lawsuit), it is now possible, for the first time in many years, to read in English works from these disfavored nations.

The New Press and Words Without Borders are proud to be among the first to offer American readers contemporary literature of "enemy nations." Literature from the Axis of Evil includes thirty-five works of fiction from seven countries, most of which have never before been translated into English.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Iran, Poetry, Asia, Africa, Anthologies

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 5, 2006

About the author

See also Alane Salierno Mason.

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those who do not know anything about it, Words Without Borders is an online magazine that does an incomparable job of bringing literature from all corners of the globe to an English-reading audience. And I do mean all quarters--recent numbers have focused on Estonia, Peru, Indonesia, Tamil, Palestine (and, yes, German), literature of exile, graphic novels, and the sixth queer issue. The title of this volume at hand references the "axis of evil" that President Bush created with his habitual lax usage--even as he spoke, two of the regimes he lumped together were enemies of each other (Iraq and Iran, a situation he proceeded to remedy) and the third, North Korea, lay on the other side of China from them. The title is in any case approximate, since in addition to the targets of the former President, this volumes gathers work from Syria, Libya, Sudan and Cuba. As one would expect, it is a mixed bag, but many of these pieces are searing in their judgement upon the dictatorships under which the writers labor. The section on Iraq alternates between fiction that casts a cold and sometimes sarcastic eye on institutions and poetry heartbroken over the destruction of its communities. Iraq's Muhsin Al-Ramli writes: "The war intensified, so the Leader pardoned all military prisoners and returned them to their nooses. He also released all political prisoners from life and returned them to the belly of their mother earth after they had lain around in the refrigerators for a period long enough for their parents to pay the cost of nooses, the importation of which would have cost the government hard cash." Sudan's Tarek Eltayeb begins a story: "Listening to the radio is prohibited... Laughter and jokes are prohibited... Even dreams are prohibited."" Some stories have a poignance beyond even what the writers could possibly have intended. Syria is represented by two stories (one by a Kurdish writer) in which the burdens of adulthood fall on children. written long before its people began their long and sometimes fatal treks to and through Europe. But a number of these pieces sound like the regional variant of cheerleaders. Libya is represented by a single story, which centers on the reaction to German and Italian soldiers during World War II, and a desolate poem. As it happens, the literature of North Korea, at least the pieces gathered in this volume, is, as one might expect, patriotically dull. The art of the title "The Art of Music" for example, winds up being "the immortal majestic music ringing out from the stones loaded in the truck, imbued by the great general." A culture that makes propaganda that clumsy is obviously not interested in an international public.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, loaned to me by my dear friend Kim Brown, grants an unusually fresh perspective on countries we don't get to hear a lot about. I came a way with new respect and interest in our "enemy nations". There is a great mix of writers who are dissenting and those who are celebrating their governments. What you get from all of the stories and poems, more importantly, is a deeper look at the people, their history and culture interacting with political movement. One of my favorites is from North Korea: a Korean visits Russia and meets two disillusioned Russians whose parents had been Communist Party loyals. The Russians go through some interesting twists as they struggle with treacherous present day Party members and a devious American. I'll say no more in order to avoid spoilers, but the tale of personal/political revenge adds to the enjoyment of these commies that you come to love.

[Valarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an incredible project, so I really hate to give it a negative review, because we need more books like it. I would love to read more literature from all of these countries! Unfortunately, having a different translator for every short story or poem means that the work has no cohesion. The introductions to each segment were also very poorly written. I've read a lot of "brief histories" of the Korean War, or summaries of American hostilities with Cuba, etc., and these were mediocre at best. If Words Without Borders could hire better translators and editors for their next project, it could be really amazing. Three stars because the content was often good. In particular, some of the Cuban and Iranian works really stood out to me. Even the North Korean works were enlightening once you filtered out the mandatory nationalism.

[Melissa Cavanaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "axis of evil" conceit is a little gimmicky, but it is what hooked me and I'm glad it did - an excellent collection of international modern fiction.

[kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spotted this at the library when I was in the mood for short stories (and too busy for full-length novels).

Some of the stories spoke to me more than others: Hameed Nylon for its humor; On the Sacks for its miniature coming-of-age story, and A Tale of Music for its demonstration that musical appreciation is for all, even those who are oppressed and so poor that they struggle to eat two meals per day.

The language in many of the stories is a bit dry because of the translators' devotion to absolute correctness in bringing the authors' words to a foreign audience, and that can take ease and enjoyment from the read, but the book is still important because it offers a rare look at the modern literature of cultures about which most Americans know far too little.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely something everyone should read. We really have more in common than we're taught we do.

[Guilherme Semionato · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read only Kermani's. Such a wonderful tale.

It is available here: http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/f...

[Catherine Gillespie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concerned with the fact that most Western readers are ignorant of the important and transforming effect of literature in enemy nations, and the tendency of Westerners to accept two dimensional characterizations of people from the “Axis of Evil” countries, the editors of Literature from the ‘Axis of Evil': Writing from Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and Other Enemy Nations compiled a collection of essays about the literary movements in those countries and previously untranslated short stories, poems, and novel excerpts from the writers living there.

Since I’m very interested in literature as a vehicle for social and political criticism and also in the literature of the Near East and Middle East, I enjoyed this book. I learned from the essays and, for the most part, enjoyed the translated selections.

{Read the rest of my review here}

[Abby Rombalski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the most stand up and shout, "Now I understand the world!" book, but definitely a good one for perspective. The editors of this book worked to gather different short genres of literature from countries that either the USA does not allow to enter its borders, or whose home countries do not allow to leave its boundaries (Cuba, North Korea, Iran, etc.). In some countries where free speech is not a virture or a truth, it is pressing to look deep at the symbolism and inferred themes in order to find more meaning.

[Rachel Paster · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is worth reading for the introduction alone, in which it explains why it is so hard to find works in translation from countries considered to be enemies of the U.S. The actual selections are a bit uneven -- something also explained in the introduction, as some countries prevent publication of works that are seen as antithetical to the state. So there is some propaganda here for sure. But on the whole, worth reading.

[danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

because of my interest in middle eastern culture, i expected to enjoy the writings from this region of the world the most. however, i found the stories and poetry from cuba to be the standouts in this collection.

[Patti Digh]

What better way to learn about cultural difference than by reading stories and other writing from different countries. Many of these works were translated into English for the first time for this collection. There were some remarkable images, fascinating differences in writing style, and more.

[Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well worth tracking down. Some stories are dazzling, others less so, but this book is perhaps less about the work itself and more about the statement that it makes. I think it would have been more successful had the editors focused on fewer countries. More depth would have been very welcome.

[Christen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always hard to rate a collection. But I felt this collection did a good job collecting works from all the countries and that they were diverse enough. Some I enjoyed more than others but I appreciated the collection.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that the stories are about what occurs in between war, not about War.

[Shelley Diamond · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the concept of this collection. A group called Words without Borders supports the translation of writing from countries that are usually considered enemies of the U.S. Their website wordswithoutborders.org has monthly publication of more translations. It's really important to listen to people from other countries with your own ears and be open to what they have to say. You may be surprised at what you hear....

The ones I liked best in this anthology were:
from Iran: The Vice Principal by Houshang Moradi-Kermani
from North Korea: A Tale of Music by Kang Kwi-mi
from North Korea: The Fifth Photograph by Lim Hwa-won
from Syria: On the Sacks by Hanna Mina
from Sudan: The Sweetest Tea with the Most Beautiful Woman in the World by Tarek Eltayeb

Honorable Mention: from Cuba: Women of the Federation by Francisco Garcia Gonzalez

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve had this book on my shelf for years, and finally got around to reading it. The book’s concept is certainly interesting and still relevant - literature representing countries treated as hostile or enemies by the United States. Since the book includes so many different authors, from so many different times and places, there will be inevitable variation in how readily a reader will connect with a given entry (or be able to understand its cultural background; there were some stories where I found the cultural references and customs quite unfamiliar). The inclusion of excerpts from larger works is understandable, but these are less fun to read and can feel a bit exposition-heavy or disjointed.

With all that being said, I’m glad I read the anthology. My favorites were:
From Iran, “The Vice Principal,” an interesting and surprisingly dark story of growing up
From Iraq, “Baghdad My Beloved,” a starkly moving poem that doesn’t pull its punches
From Libya, “The Soldiers’ Plumes,” which masters both poignancy and memory
and from Cuba, “Project for a Commemorative Mural (Mixed Media),” because it is written in a very blunt and unique style.

Some editorial decisions were bothersome. Most of the North Korean entries were so propaganda-heavy that I don’t see what value they added to the collection. “All that we could find was in fact propaganda literature,” the editors acknowledged (xix). If they genuinely didn’t have access to good literature from that country, they should have left it out. Of course, that would have meant they might have needed to change the title, but…

…The title was unnecessary. The editors hint that the "axis of evil" terminology increased some authors’ reservations about having their work included (xix). Why not drop it for the sake of the project, even if the result would have been a bit less attention-grabbing?

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The editors of this book must have had quite the quandry--they had to market it in a certain way to get it past U.S. censors but because it was marketed in such a way a lot of great potential contributors didn't want to participate. The result is kind of a random collection of stuff, but two things especially make it worth it: the three party-liner essays from North Korea and the Iraqi poem "Baghdad My Beloved" which is very depressing, in a way that reminds the reader, yes, I am unavoidably connected to this experience which is very depressing.

[Rina Michelle Kawamoto · Rating 3 out of 5]

You consume media and hear things. Then you stumble across this compilation which sets out to offer you an alternative view point without trying to persuade you. It just… is. Refreshing to read writers from all these places and see how their craft are affected by their circumstances and political relationship with their countries.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Alane Mason and co-editors, for publishing this brave, much-needed book. Not all the work was equally compelling to me, but several of the writers shook me right out of my assumptions about genre and convention.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this for book club. i think it's an important collection to read even if some of the stories are too bizarre or out of context (some are selections from novels) to be considered very good on their own. my favourites were the stories a tale of music, the fifth photograph, and the sweetest tea.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book a second time for a class I teach called World Cultures. The editorial slant is more than a little self righteous, but deservedly so. Stories tie and bind, my students tell me. How about that?

[Meryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the problem with books of short stories--the ones you love are too short, the ones that are boring are too long. I liked the very first story--about the boy almost getting kicked out of school for his creative writing--quite a bit. The rest was touch and go.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for good stories from non-American/British/German cultures as I was at one point, this is a great starter. It's not a few books bound together, but excerpts from many books that will give you an idea of what to search for on Amazon next time you're thinking of picking up a book.

[Gwen Tolios · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like all story collections, there are good stories and bad stories. I loved the opportunity to read stories from other countries, but only a handful really interested me and so at times I had to remind myself I was in the middle of reading this. Still, I love the project.

[Merek]

This caught my eye while browsing at Powell's. I don't think I've ever read literature from these countries, so it seemed like a hole to fill. I'm looking forward to it.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enlightening! Interesting!

[Jessica]

Picked this up at City Lights in San Fran...one story in and I love it...

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reminded me why I don't generally read "literature". Most of the excerpts seemed like pure exposition, very little plot. Not an engrossing read for me.

[Mythili · Rating 5 out of 5]

Embarrassed I waited a decade after this was published to pick it up.