Literature and War

An interesting question raised in this article in Al Sharq al Awsat on why the war in Iraq has not generated much literary response (poetry and novel) from Arab writers. (in Arabic)

One reason given is that in Iraq it's "empire versus dictatorship," and writers are reluctant to write because they don't want to be seen as taking sides. While in the war in Lebanon this summer, things were simpler. Perhaps. But I thought literature allows writers a space to deal with complex situations and ambiguities. Otherwise, why read literature? The newspaper is enough.