82. The Responsibility of War

These authors have been touched by war, and their works refuse to look away from the horrors and violence that are devastating territories around the globe. In the midst of deep suffering, there is also unassailable humanity, resistance, and hope; the authors come together for a powerful discussion about the terrible costs of war, and our collective responsibility to humanity. In his essay collection The Blood of Things, Jamaluddin Aram reflects on the complexities of exile and his birthplace in Afghanistan. Nazanine Hozar is the Iranian-Canadian author of The Small Ones, a searing novel about children caught up in a military insurgence along the Iran–Iraq border. Foreign correspondent Sally Hayden has covered some of the darkest moments of our time; This Is Also a Love Story reveals the love and goodness she’s encountered too, challenging us to reconsider preconceptions and imagine a better world. Moderated by Minelle Mahtani.

Sally Hayden’s attendance made possible thanks to the generous support of Culture Ireland.

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Event Participants:

Jamaluddin Aram

JAMALUDDIN ARAM is an Afghan-Canadian writer. His short story “This Hard Easy Life” was a finalist for the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award in 2020. His debut novel, Nothing Good Happens in Wazirabad on Wednesday, won the 2024 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize in Literary Fiction. He is the associate producer of the Oscar-nominated film Buzkashi Boys. He lives in Toronto.

Sally Hayden

SALLY HAYDEN is an Irish journalist focused on migration, conflict, and humanitarian crises. Sally’s work has been featured by The New York Times, the Irish Times, The Washington Post, Financial Times, The Guardian, CNN International, Al Jazeera, Time, BBC, and other outlets across the world. Sally’s first book My Fourth Time, We Drowned was the winner of the Orwell Prize and the Irish Book of the Year, and was a finalist for the Baillie Gifford Prize and the New York Public Library’s Helene Bernstein Book Award for excellence in journalism.

Nazanine Hozar

NAZANINE HOZAR was born in Tehran, Iran, before coming to Canada as a child. Her debut novel, Aria, is an award-nominated bestseller that was published to international acclaim. The Small Ones is her second novel. Nazanine Hozar lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Minelle Mahtani

MINELLE MAHTANI is an author, former radio host and professor. She is the author of the award-winning memoir, May it Have a Happy Ending (with Penguin Random House). She is the Chair of Canadian Studies at UBC and has won two national magazine awards for her creative non fiction work. She is from Toronto and is of mixed Indian-Iranian descent.