Media Release
October 2 2008
New book unlocks hidden war stories
Perhaps
some of the most powerful autobiographies, memoirs, poems and diaries of
the 20th century have been written about the experience of war – from
the Diary of Anne
Frank to
Goodbye to
All That, these works provide unforgettable insights into the
impact of war on communities and individuals.
In a new book – Writings of War – researchers from UniSA’s Culture and Conflict research group have collected a range of essays based on the letters and stories from wounded servicemen in World War I, children in the Holocaust, a soldier-artist illustrating envelopes for his mates in World War II, among other victims of the impact of war.
The collection of military studies is published by Lythrum Press. They represent the narratives of everyday lives at times of conflict. Uncovered by sympathetic researchers they have been brought together in a quality publication that seeks to understand how people survive the most extreme situations.
“People leave records of their experiences, shards of their lives written on scraps of paper gathered in a shoebox or fleshed out as published accounts in a memoir or novel or newspaper article,” says the director of the research group, Professor Claire Woods.
“Some, especially the hidden or unpublished diaries and letters, serve to explain very real and immediate personal responses to war, pain and tragedy.”
These accounts were first related at seminars presented in the past year, involving scholars, journalists, and military memoirists. The publication of Writings of War, gives them permanent literary form providing an invaluable resource for researchers.
“The papers in this volume offer scholarly yet personal perspectives on the way war and situations of conflict and trauma intersect with individual lives,” Prof Woods says.
The book sells for $29.95 plus $10 postage and packaging and can be
ordered through
Rosemary Charles at UniSA's School of Communication.
Contact for interviews
-
Professor Claire Woods office (08) 8302 4760 email claire.woods@unisa.edu.au
Media contact
-
Michèle Nardelli office (08) 8302 0966 mobile 0418 823 673 email
michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au