New Books in Literary Studies Amir Moosavi, "Dust That Never Settles: Literary Afterlives of the Iran-Iraq War" (Stanford UP, 2025)
Sep 14, 2025
Amir Moosavi, a Professor at Rutgers University, Newark, specializes in Arabic and Persian literatures. He discusses his book, which explores how writers from Iraq and Iran have transformed narratives of the Iran-Iraq War into powerful stories of mourning and protest. The conversation delves into the role of literature in shaping memory, trauma, and identity amidst political agendas. Moosavi highlights the contrasting literary freedoms in both countries and the lasting impact of the war on contemporary writing, pointing to significant authors and future research on environmental repercussions.
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Dust As Persistent War Residue
- Dust functions as both literal and metaphorical residue of the Iran-Iraq War embedded in visual and literary cultures.
- Writers depict dust as an inescapable trace showing how the war's memory persists long after combat ends.
Two Distinct Literary Phases
- The book divides literature about the Iran-Iraq War into wartime and postwar phases with distinct styles and purposes.
- Wartime texts were often state-sponsored while postwar works revisit grief and critique official narratives.
State Rewriting Of 'Committed' Literature
- Iltizam/ta'ahud (committed literature) was redefined by both states to mean loyalty to governmental causes during the war.
- Governments harnessed the notion of commitment to suppress dissent and produce state-sanctioned wartime literature.
