American Mother, with music composed by Jamie Leigh Sampson, was performed at the State University of New York in Fredonia, in March 2020 just before the Covid-19 shutdown. You can listen and view here.
The Slowdown with Tracy K. Smith
Tracy K Smith reads American Mother on The Slowdown
The Poetry Foundation
Journalist Laura Kasinof on two collections that examine life on the periphery of war:
“Like nothing else, poetry reaches the heart of the tragedy of war.”
From the Poetry Foundation
Rhino reviews
Thank you Rhino poetry and Emily Perez for this thoughtful review:
War poetry often speaks from the deployed soldier’s point of view. Hart’s collection presents an essential counterpoint, giving voice to the networks of civilians whose lives are forever altered by the experiences of their loved ones. She reveals the paradox of helplessness and complicity. These are voices on a precipice, voices not-yet in mourning, but already aware of the need to be “like an ocean” ready to “carry [the soldiers’] broken parts.”
Vulture
Being on this list is pretty wonderful. New York Magazine’s Vulture says some words:
Though the canon abounds with war poets — Homer, Wilfred Owen, Robert Graves, Walt Whitman — fewer describe the complexities of the home front. Pamela Hart works to correct this by telling the stories, including her own, of the parents, spouses, and children of those who serve. “This isn’t a story of war,” she writes. “This is the mother on the idea of a son at war.
Publishers Weekly
Hart’s drive to keep looking and listening while “the long war goes on” reads like a fundamental act of compassion. Publishers Weekly
Ploughshares
Lindsay Weishar engages with Mothers Over Nangarhar at Ploughshares
Though language cannot encompass the enormity of war’s influence, it can still bring us as close as possible to expressing the inexpressible. This Hart does masterfully through an array of voices, all of whom echo and reecho what it means to survive and communicate war.
The Millions
The Millions includes Mothers Over Nangarhar on its must-read list for January!
It’s an honor to be featured with some amazing poets.
Sierra Nevada Review
Hannah Harris of the Sierra Nevada Review asks me some questions.
O Magazine
O Magazine featured this article on my work as writing mentor to Afghan women and vets.