War / Torn by Hasan Namir

2020 Stonewall Book Award – Barbara Gittings Literature Award Honor Book

Lambda Literary Award-winner Hasan Namir’s debut collection of poetry, War / Torn, is a brazen and lyrical interrogation of religion and masculinity—the performance and sense of belonging they delineate and draw together. Namir summons prayer, violence, and the sensuality of love, revisiting tenets of Islam and dictates of war to break the barriers between the profane and the sacred.

Watch the Book Launch and Reading:

Praise for War / Torn:

“War / Torn mourns, loves and burns all the derogatory impulses of our continuous present. This book is of and against our time. War / Torn is a breathless elegy in the most defiantly tender poetics you can imagine.”
—Jordan Scott, author of Night & Ox, and winner of the Latner Poetry Prize by the Writers’ Trust of Canada

“War / Torn reminds us of how dexterous and wholly embracing poetry can be. In the hands of Hasan Namir, poetry spans from origin stories to the afterlife; it holds blessings and erotic provocations, fear and forgiveness, and tangled tangled love.” —Amber Dawn, author of Sodom Road Exit

“Written in emotional and visceral language Hasan Namir’s poems are bold, exploring the harsh expectations of masculinity, the battles we wage in our worlds large and small, and the holiness in desire. In these poems there are no dichotomies. but the full breadth of human experience, from the roughest to the tenderest moments.” —Dina Del Bucchia, author of It’s a Big Deal!

“War / Torn collides and bridges together worlds of chaos and love and sex and violence and lust and hope. Beautiful, heartbreaking and an unflinching look at the terrifying reality of homophobia, war and shame. A collection of poems that asks how do we reconcile all the parts of our identities and histories, with the sincerity and caring touch only Hasan can bring to it.” —Daniel Zomparelli, Founder of Poetry Is Dead

“Precise and relentless in its interrogation of doctrine, intimacy, and masculinities, Hasan Namir’s poetry is informed by violence and infused with tenderness. War/ Torn slashes perception to ribbons and cradles the remains.” —Carleigh Baker, author of Bad Endings

Press Coverage for War/Torn:

Spring 2019 Announcements: Poetry —Publishers Weekly

20 works of Canadian poetry to check out in spring 2019 —CBC Books

2019 Forthcoming Poetry Books by Queer People of Color —Luther Hughes

Most Anticipated: Our 2019 Spring Poetry Preview —49th Shelf

11 collections from up-and-coming Canadian poets to read —CBC Books

POWER OF POETRY #36: Hasan Namir —The Poetry Question

War/Torn Identities: A Recommended Reading List by Hasan Namir —49th Shelf

“Namir does not hide. These pieces are honest, harrowing, and at times heavy enough to put it down. You have to be ready for this collection. You have to prepare to feel. You have to be able to breathe. You have to know that War/Torn is a journey and a metaphor that digs well beyond the surface.” —The Poetry Question

“When I Write Poetry, I Feel Limitless and Free” Hasan Namir, author of War / Torn, on Process & Poetry —Open Book

April Bookmarks: 25 New Books by Asian Writers —Asian American Writers Workshop

12 books by Canadian LGBTQ writers to reading during Pride Month —CBC Books

19 Canadian writers to watch in 2019 —CBC Books

Bright Books for Sunny Days: 2019 Summer Recommended Reading List —Writers’ Trust of Canada

Spotlight on Debut Authors: Hasan Namir —Eden Mills Writers’ Fest Newsletter

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews: Hasan Namir —The Wombwell Rainbow

Six debut authors to check out at Eden Mills Writers’ Festival —IFP.ca

“All in all, War/Torn is an essential read that addresses the limits of love, as it casts shadow, and also shines light on what it means to be torn between duty and desire.” —Matthew Walsh, Plenitude Magazine

12 or 20 (Second Series) Questions with Hasan Namir —rob mclennan’s blog

The Best Canadian Poetry of 2019 —CBC Books

Hasan Namir Incites Creativity in the New Year —The Source

Iraqi-Canadian author Hasan Namir graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BA in English and received the Ying Chen Creative Writing Student Award. He is the author of God in Pink (2015), which won the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Fiction and was chosen as one of the Top 100 Books of 2015 by The Globe and Mail. His work has also been featured on Huffington Post, Shaw TV, Airbnb, and in the film God in Pink: A Documentary. He was recently named a writer to watch by CBC books.  Hasan lives in Vancouver with his husband. War/Torn (2019, Book*Hug) is his latest poetry book.