Genocide as a Source of Literary Inspiration

(After Genocides) Collection as an Example

Abstract

In terms of content, literature encompasses a wide range of subjects and in doing so, it benefits from a multitudinous variety of phenomena to create its messages and leave imprints. Conforming to this fact, literature has historically aspired to portray the influential and tragic events that have shaped human history and existence. One of the significant events in the Kurdish history is the Anfal Campaigns which involves a series of systematic offensive operations practiced against the Kurdish people by the Iraqi government.

The present study aims to explore the representation of the Anfal Genocide in Hashim Taha Akray’s poetry collection entitled After Anfal. Examining the ways in which Anfal-related themes have been approached, the study is divided into two sections. The first section presents the theoretical aspects of the study including the definition of Anfal, its conception, types and the different stages through which it has been practiced. The second section concerns the representation of the Anfal Campaigns in Akray’s poetry. Through Akray’s employment of these disastrous events, which he strongly condemns, it becomes clear that the campaigns have inflected painful and unforgettable effects on the Kurdish civilian population.