Title
I Am the Beggar of the World: Landays from Contemporary Afghanistan,Used
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I Am the Beggar of the World presents an eyeopening collection of clandestine poems by Afghan women.Because my love's American,blisters blossom on my heart.Afghans revere poetry, particularly the high literary forms that derive from Persian or Arabic. But the poem above is a folk coupleta landay, an ancient oral and anonymous form created by and for mostly illiterate people: the more than 20 million Pashtun women who span the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. War, separation, homeland, lovethese are the subjects of landays, which are brutal and spare, can be remixed like rap, and are powerful in that they make no attempts to be literary.From Facebook to drone strikes to the songs of the ancient caravans that first brought these poems to Afghanistan thousands of years ago, landays reflect contemporary Pashtun life and the impact of three decades of war. With the U.S. withdrawal in 2014 looming, these are the voices of protest most at risk of being lost when the Americans leave.After learning the story of a teenage girl who was forbidden to write poems and set herself on fire in protest, the poet Eliza Griswold and the photographer Seamus Murphy journeyed to Afghanistan to learn about these women and to collect their landays. The poems gathered in I Am the Beggar of the World express a collective rage, a lament, a filthy joke, a love of homeland, an aching longing, a call to arms, all of which belie any facile image of a Pashtun woman as nothing but a mute ghost beneath a blue burqa.
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- Q: What is the main theme of 'I Am the Beggar of the World'? A: The main theme of 'I Am the Beggar of the World' revolves around the voices of Afghan women, expressed through landays—short, poignant poems that reflect their experiences with war, love, and longing.
- Q: Who is the author of this book? A: The book is authored by Eliza Griswold, who collaborated with photographer Seamus Murphy to document the landays of Afghan women.
- Q: What is a landay? A: A landay is a form of folk poetry, typically consisting of two rhymed couplets, that is often created and recited by mostly illiterate women in the Pashtun culture, focusing on themes like love, loss, and social issues.
- Q: How many pages does the book contain? A: The book contains 160 pages.
- Q: What type of binding does this book have? A: The book is available in paperback binding.
- Q: When was 'I Am the Beggar of the World' published? A: The book was published on March 17, 2015.
- Q: Is the book suitable for all ages? A: While the book contains powerful themes and raw emotions, it may be more suitable for mature readers due to its content related to war and women's struggles.
- Q: What can readers expect to learn from this book? A: Readers can expect to gain insights into the lives of Afghan women, their resilience, and the cultural significance of poetry in their society.
- Q: Are there any illustrations or photographs in the book? A: Yes, the book includes photographs by Seamus Murphy that complement the poems and provide a visual context to the women's stories.
- Q: Where can I purchase 'I Am the Beggar of the World'? A: The book can be purchased through various online retailers, including major bookstores and platforms that sell books.