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Issue Details: First known date: 2020... 2020 Failures of Imagination : A Journey from Tehran’s Prisons to Australia’s Immigration Detention Centres
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'On 14 November 2019, Behrouz Boochani arrived in New Zealand, to feature in the WORD Christchurch literary festival. In so doing, Boochani, the Kurdish-Iranian writer, detained – or, in his words, exiled – by the Australian government for six years, finally escaped his ‘Manus Prison’. The details of his resettlement remained unclear, but it didn’t matter; he simply wanted to be ‘free for a while’. Around the world, on broadcast and social media, thousands celebrated Boochani’s ‘long flight to freedom’. This followed his award-winning book No Friend But the Mountains (2018), an autobiographical novel typed on his mobile phone using WhatsApp, one passage at a time. Smuggled from Manus in thousands of PDF files, it was translated from Farsi into English by his Iranian-Australian collaborator, Dr Omid Tofighian. For Boochani and those concerned with the plight of asylum seekers and refugees, his escape offered a rare moment of exultation.' (Introduction)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Australian Book Review no. 426 November 2020 20739577 2020 periodical issue

    'Welcome to the November issue! On our cover is a very young Hessom Razavi, the ABR Behrouz Boochani Fellow. In his cover article, Hessom relates his family’s trials after the Iranian Revolution, their flight to Australia, and his awareness of the immense ordeals facing refugees in Australia’s immigration centres. Tony Hughes-d’Aeth examines regional differences in Australian writing and considers the ways regional factors can influence authors. Gideon Haigh is underwhelmed by Book Woodward’s new book, Rage, and asks if Trump’s presidency has rendered traditional journalism impossible. James Ley finds much to admire in Richard Flanagan’s new novel, as does Beejay Silcox with Elena Ferrante’s first novel since the Neapolitan quartet. Susan Wyndham reviews the new novel by Craig Silvey, who is the subject of Open Page. And Judith Bishop is our Poet of the Month.' (Publication summary)

    2020
    pg. 39-40, 42-44, 46

Works about this Work

y separately published work icon Hessom Razavi on Statelessness and Australia’s Detention Centres Hessom Razavi (presenter), Southbank : Australian Book Review, Inc. , 2020 23439684 2020 single work podcast

.In today's episode, Hessom Razavi – the ABR Behrouz Boochani Fellow – speaks to Peter Rose about his essay 'Failures of imagination: From Tehran’s prisons to Australia’s immigration detention centres', which appears in the November issue. Hessom's essay offers a powerful reflection on the experiences that led to his family fleeing Iran to escape political persecution. Navigating the 1979 Islamic Revolution, political rebellion, and tragic family disappearances, Razavi examines the similarities between Australia’s immigration detention centres and the political prison he visited as a boy – and contemplates how easily the detainees’ fate might have been his own.. (Production summary)

y separately published work icon Hessom Razavi on Statelessness and Australia’s Detention Centres Hessom Razavi (presenter), Southbank : Australian Book Review, Inc. , 2020 23439684 2020 single work podcast

.In today's episode, Hessom Razavi – the ABR Behrouz Boochani Fellow – speaks to Peter Rose about his essay 'Failures of imagination: From Tehran’s prisons to Australia’s immigration detention centres', which appears in the November issue. Hessom's essay offers a powerful reflection on the experiences that led to his family fleeing Iran to escape political persecution. Navigating the 1979 Islamic Revolution, political rebellion, and tragic family disappearances, Razavi examines the similarities between Australia’s immigration detention centres and the political prison he visited as a boy – and contemplates how easily the detainees’ fate might have been his own.. (Production summary)

Last amended 11 Nov 2020 09:40:15
39-40, 42-44, 46 Failures of Imagination : A Journey from Tehran’s Prisons to Australia’s Immigration Detention Centressmall AustLit logo Australian Book Review
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