War and Peace in Contemporary Eritrean Poetry

A critical study by Charles Cantalupo of Eritrean written poetry from roughly the last three decades of the twentieth century. The poems discussed appear in the anthology Who Needs a Story? Contemporary Eritrean Poetry in Tigrinya, Tigre and Arabic, from which a selection is offered in their original scripts (Ge’ez or Arabic) and in English translation. Who Needs a Story? is the first anthology of contemporary poetry from Eritrea ever published, and War and Peace in Contemporary Eritrean Poetry is the first book on the subject. All of the poets in Who Needs a Story? participated in the Eritrean struggle for independence (1961-91) as freedom fighters or as supporters in the Eritrean diaspora. Contemporary Eritrean poetry divides itself between experiences of war and peace, although one can contain the other. The book includes an extended analysis of Reesom Haile, one of Eritrea’s most famous contemporary poets, and a meditation on how Cantalupo, a non-native speaker, became involved in Eritrean poetry translation. Cantalupo is Distinguished Professor of English, Comparative Literature, and African Studies at Penn State University.