Taking Mesopotamia was originally inspired by Jenny Lewis's search for her lost father - the young South Wales Borderer who fought in the ill-fated Mesopotamian campaign of World War I. Through reconstructed diary extracts, witness statements, formal poems and free verse, the book extends into a wider exploration of the recent Iraq wars. It also includes translations of a number of the poems into Arabic, and photographs taken by Lewis's father on campaign in 1916. Woven throughout the book is a strand inspired by The Epic of Gilgamesh, whose themes of hubris, abuse of power and fear of death show us how little the world has changed in four thousand years.
- ISBN10 1306428483
- ISBN13 9781306428484
- Publish Date 4 March 2014
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 17 February 2015
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Carcanet Press
- Format eBook
- Language English