Literature and War: Conversations with Israeli and Palestinian Writers

Novelist Runo Isakson, confronting the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, found himself wondering: How can literature play a role in helping one side to see the other?

To answer this question, he interviewed fifteen pre-eminent Israeli and Palestinian writers, asking them what role literature plays in creating dialogue, ending war, and building peace. The conversations that result are deeply personal and political, both reflective and urgent; both complicating and clarifying our understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The collection includes interviews with acclaimed Israeli writers David Grossman and Amos Oz ("In a conflict, few people are capable of imagining other people's suffering"). Palestinian novelist Sahar Khalifeh discusses feminism, literature, and occupation. Poet Mahmoud Darwish and novelist Izzat Ghazzawi appear together, discussing how "knowledge about the other is an obligation."

These dialogues transcend national boundaries and the narrow language of conflict and invite readers around the world to take a first step toward peace.