Letters to War and Lethe is a collection of poems about war: its deprivations, its strange gifts, and its remembrances. “Whether set in Afghanistan or an American supermarket,” writes Boston-based poet Joyce Peseroff, these poems “upset platitudes and assumptions about those who fight, what they remember, and who speaks for them.” Farzana Marie’s book, Peseroff says, “is an essential addition to the literature of war and remembrance.”
Bruce Weigl, a Vietnam veteran and author of best-selling prose memoir The Circle of Hanh (2000) as well as numerous books of poetry, describes Letters to War and Lethe this way: “Writing bravely and eloquently from the point of view of a woman war veteran, Farzana Marie gives us a vision of war and its more terrible aftermath that we haven’t seen yet. However deeply sorrowful these songs most often are, we are made wiser by their presence among us. Not the least important accomplishment in this collection of poetry is a virtuoso performance by someone who understands the entire range of musical options that prosody is and therefore deftly weaves meaning and form together into a richly formal tapestry. I am happy to welcome you to this fine talent and these powerfully real poems.”
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Farzana Marie is a poet and doctoral candidate at the University of Arizona, where she studies Persian Literature and Creative Writing. Farzana’s poetry has appeared in print and on-line journals including The Rusty Nail, Adanna, When Women Waken, Fourteen Hills, and Blue Streak: a Journal of Military Poetry as well as anthologies including The Heart of All That Is: Reflections on Home (Holy Cow! Press, 2013). She is also the author of the nonfiction book Hearts for Sale! A Buyer’s Guide to Winning in Afghanistan (Worldwide Writings, 2013). Farzana served over six years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force, including two consecutive years deployed in Afghanistan. She now serves as president of Civil Vision International, a nonprofit charitable organization focused on positively influencing international relationships through connecting, informing, and inspiring citizens.
Follow Farzana on Twitter @farzanamarie or check out CVI’s website, www.civilvision.org
Author Contact:
Farzana Marie
farzanamarie@gmail.com / 520-303-4650 / cell 719-351-5991
Twitter @farzanamarie
3616 W Cantaloupe Dr. / Tucson, AZ 85741
Publisher Contact:
Leah Maines, Editor
LeahMaines@aol.com / Finishingbooks@aol.com www.finishinglinepress.com / 859-514-8966 / Twitter @FLPress
Finishing Line Press P.O. Box 1626 / Georgetown, KY 40324