"π±ππππ ππ πππππ ππππππ. π½πππ. ππ π πππππ ππ πππππ ππππππ. π»ππππππ πππβππ πππππππ. π°πππππππ. πΏππππ [...]. π»πππππππ." - Mona Awad π―π―π―π―π―π―π― The world is coming undone, is crumbling under pressure under the hands of one man. π This World Poetry Day, I wanted to share a poem by Ukrainian poet, Ilya Kaminsky. Published in 2009, 'We Lived Happily During the War' is a short, sharp account of helplessness in the face of others' suffering, of others suffering distant and so close to home. Watching war is a dismal feeling of guilt and privilege and uselessness. π Literature is a necessity, a luxury, an education and an escape. It is where many of us turn at all times. It is where experiences are captured and carried forward when voices cease. π War punctuates many of my recent & current reads - Half of a Yellow Sun (the Biafran war, Nigeria), Reading Lolita in Tehran (the Iranian Revolution)... Swaddled in safety, realities become simply "story". This is my reminder - to self - to continue to be shocked, to be outraged, and appalled by human suffering and human savagery; to avoid desensitivity and intellectual inactivity. π Pictured are shot through books at Tyneham Village, Dorset - a strange little capsule of civilian desertion and military rule. Pictured are Ilya Kaminsky's words. Pictured are the flowers that glitched yesterday. Today, I wish you flowers and poetry, I wish you the luxury of literature. . #worldpoetryday #ilyakaminsky #welivedhappilyduringthewar #ukraine #πΊπ¦ #tyneham #poetry #bookstagram #halfofayellowsun #readinglolitaintehran #litnerd #darkacademia #bookaesthetic #literarytravel #spookynerd #generallygothic #gothic #history #bunny (at Tyneham Village) https://www.instagram.com/p/CbYSYtsrfn3/?utm_medium=tumblr
